The thrilling extended clash where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th place.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
