The exciting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined 51M viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th place.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
