The thrilling extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English program in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
