The nail-biting 11-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement over the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best playoff performance since 2017.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
