The nail-biting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1M. The overall World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
