The exciting extended matchup where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate over 50 million watchers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American average was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and the network’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.
