The thrilling extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51 million viewers across the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American viewership reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 various languages.
