The thrilling extended contest where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series averaged 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US viewership was over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
