The nail-biting extended clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement over the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over the previous year and the network’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 various tongues.
