The nail-biting extended clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate 51 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown featuring 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 streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement over the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached 16.1M. The overall World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.