The exciting extra-inning contest that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51M spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million watchers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s best playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
