World Series Final Game Draws 51M Viewers Across the US, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate over 50 million viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB announced this is the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday epic game averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
