The thrilling 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate 51 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB announced this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
The Saturday memorable game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
