The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable game averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement over the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest playoff performance after the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
