The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase over the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in sixteen various languages.
