The thrilling extended matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball announced this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average was over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance after 2017.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
