The exciting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51M watchers in the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition contest featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US viewership was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best playoff performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
