The exciting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M viewers in the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable game drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. 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. in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US average was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s strongest postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.
