The exciting extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51M watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball reported this is the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete American viewership was 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different languages.
