The nail-biting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 contest featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous Game 7 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 seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US average was 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
