The nail-biting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M viewers across the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
