World Series Final Game Attracts Over 50 Million Viewers Across the US, Canada and Japanese Regions.
The exciting extended contest where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB announced this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game averaged over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US viewership reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance after the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.