The thrilling extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate over 50 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this represents the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average was over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different tongues.
