The exciting 11-inning contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate 51M viewers across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball reported this represents the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match World Series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M watchers, an eight percent rise over last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
