The thrilling extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic game secured 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in 13th place.
Global Audience Figures
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1M. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
