Fall Classic Final Game Captures 51M Viewers Across the US, Canadian and Japanese Markets.
The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total American average was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different languages.
