The exciting 11-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total over 50 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a 16% improvement over the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English program in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match series recorded 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance after 2017.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
