The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate over 50 million watchers in the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 was seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average reached over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
