The nail-biting 11-inning contest that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
