The exciting 11-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run drew a combined 51 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million 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 best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
