The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB stated this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest drew over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
