The nail-biting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US average reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various languages.
