Fall Classic Final Game Attracts Over 50 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canada and Japanese Regions.
The thrilling extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight years.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American average was 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various languages.
