The thrilling 11-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total over 50 million viewers across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. 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 viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership was 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different tongues.
