The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a total 51 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB reported this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
