The exciting 11-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51 million watchers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game World Series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
