The nail-biting extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a combined over 50 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total American average was 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.
