The nail-biting 11-inning contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate 51 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured over 27 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and the network’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
