The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51M viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB announced this represents the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
