World Series Game 7 Draws Over 50 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canada and Japan Regions.
The nail-biting extended contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB announced this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series recorded 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete American average was 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and the network’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
