The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game averaged over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average was over 16 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M viewers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
