The nail-biting extended matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball reported this is the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game drew 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
