The exciting extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined over 50 million viewers across the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American viewership reached 16.1M. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
