The exciting extended contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51M viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB announced this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles 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 Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
