The thrilling 11-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball announced this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American average was over 16 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
