Fall Classic Final Game Captures 51 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canada and Japanese Markets.
The exciting extended matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run drew a combined over 50 million watchers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB announced this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series recorded 15.71M audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1M. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
