The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate 51M spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
