The thrilling extended matchup that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51M spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series drew 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best playoff performance after 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in sixteen various languages.
