The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate 51M viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
Global Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.