Fall Classic Final Game Draws 51M Audience Members In the US, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game 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 innings – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
