The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball reported this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 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 Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership was over 16 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
