The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate over 50 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this represents the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
The Saturday memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s best playoff ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
