World Series Game 7 Draws Over 50 Million Audience Members In the United States, Canada and Japan Regions.
The thrilling extra-inning contest where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball announced this represents the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English program in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership was over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
