The exciting extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement over the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Figures
In Canada, the game averaged over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.
