The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest drew over 27 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
