The exciting 11-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total 51M watchers in the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total American average reached over 16 million. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
