The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total 51 million watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement over the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th place.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
