The exciting extended clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 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 Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US viewership was 16.1M. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 various tongues.
