The thrilling extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB announced this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game drew 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American average reached 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
