Fall Classic Final Game Captures 51M Audience Members In the US, Canadian and Japan Markets.
The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a total over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average was over 16 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
