The exciting extra-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a combined 51M watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
