The nail-biting extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game averaged over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total US average was over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
