The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate 51 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71 million viewers on the Fox network, 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 growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
