The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this represents the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US viewership reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
