The exciting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51 million viewers in the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
