Fall Classic Game 7 Captures 51 Million Viewers In the US, Canadian and Japan Markets.
The nail-biting extra-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement over the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total American average was over 16 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different languages.
