The nail-biting extended matchup where the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement over the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached 16.1M. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
