Fall Classic Final Game Attracts 51 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canadian and Japanese Regions.
The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership was 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
