The thrilling extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M watchers across the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement over the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
