The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M watchers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this is the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series matchup since the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different languages.
