Fall Classic Final Game Draws Over 50 Million Audience Members Across the US, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51M watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series drew over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
