The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise over the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
