The thrilling 11-inning contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined over 50 million watchers across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership was over 16 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and the network’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different languages.
