The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million viewers across the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this is the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
The Saturday memorable contest secured over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language 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 deciding contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US viewership was over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership 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 eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
