The exciting extended clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
