The exciting 11-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball reported this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
The Saturday epic contest drew over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 different languages.
