The exciting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total over 50 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic game drew 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series recorded 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership was over 16 million. The overall 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 drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
