The nail-biting 11-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game landed in 13th place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series drew 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase over last year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
