The exciting 11-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. Major League Baseball announced this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it 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 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average was over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 various languages.
