The exciting extended matchup that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable contest secured over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game averaged over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise over the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
