World Series Final Game Attracts 51 Million Viewers Across the US, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The nail-biting 11-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 after the 1991 contest featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
