The exciting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate 51 million viewers across the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB announced this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American viewership was over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different languages.
