The exciting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate over 50 million watchers across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American viewership was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
