World Series Game 7 Draws 51M Viewers Across the US, Canada and Japan Markets.
The exciting extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined over 50 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 was 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.