The nail-biting extra-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball announced this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average was 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various languages.