The thrilling extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American viewership was 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen different languages.
