The thrilling extended matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total over 50 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million watchers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
