The exciting extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51M spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB announced this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
