The thrilling extended contest that saw the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this marks the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 contest between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series matchup since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American viewership was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different tongues.
