The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total over 50 million viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the highest-rated World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a 16% improvement over the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average was over 16 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
