The exciting 11-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run drew a total 51M watchers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s best playoff performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 various languages.
