The thrilling 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball reported this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match series averaged 15.71 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
