The exciting extra-inning clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
The Saturday epic game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US viewership was over 16 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
