The thrilling extra-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million watchers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
