The exciting extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51M viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest secured over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
