The exciting extended clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined over 50 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB announced this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average was over 16 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different languages.
