The exciting 11-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest averaged over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement over the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
