The thrilling 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined over 50 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game World Series drew 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the complete American average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
