Fall Classic Final Game Draws Over 50 Million Viewers Across the US, Canadian and Japanese Markets.
The thrilling extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M watchers across the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
