Fall Classic Final Game Attracts 51 Million Audience Members Across the US, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The thrilling extended matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million watchers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a 16% increase over the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.