The exciting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined over 50 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball stated this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different tongues.
