The exciting extended clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined 51 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached 16.1M. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
