The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB stated this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – 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 Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average was 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise over the previous year and the network’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
