The exciting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition contest featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different languages.
