The exciting 11-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American average reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
