The nail-biting extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate over 50 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 was seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match series drew 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1M. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen different languages.
