The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run drew a total over 50 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball announced this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series averaged 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
