The exciting extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined over 50 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight years.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total American average was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different languages.
