The exciting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate 51M spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball reported this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
