The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase over the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total American average reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
