The thrilling 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51 million viewers across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – recorded 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game series drew over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
