The exciting 11-inning contest where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total 51 million spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game was seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
