The exciting extra-inning contest that saw the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB announced this marks the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
