World Series Final Game Captures Over 50 Million Viewers In the US, Canada and Japanese Regions.
The exciting extended contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate over 50 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday memorable game drew over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US average reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase over last year and the network’s best postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various languages.
