The nail-biting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run drew a combined over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB stated this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 contest featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various languages.
