The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest secured 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th place.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete 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 complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
