World Series Game 7 Captures 51 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canadian and Japanese Regions.
The exciting extra-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51M viewers in the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement over the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached over 16 million. The overall World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance after 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
