The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match series averaged 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
