The exciting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run drew a total 51 million watchers across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete American average was 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
