The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable game secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American viewership was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
