The exciting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 contest featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance after 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
