Fall Classic Game 7 Attracts 51 Million Audience Members Across the US, Canada and Japanese Regions.
The nail-biting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition contest featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match series recorded 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
