The nail-biting extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series drew 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American average reached over 16 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
