The thrilling 11-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51 million spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew over 27 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total US average was 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
