The exciting extended contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run drew a combined over 50 million watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB reported this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete American average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
