The nail-biting extended contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a total over 50 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American average was over 16 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 various languages.
