Fall Classic Game 7 Attracts Over 50 Million Audience Members Across the US, Canada and Japanese Regions.

The exciting 11-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate 51 million watchers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball announced this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.

Television Viewership Details

Last Saturday’s epic game drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.

It also is the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.

In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.

International Audience Figures

In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.

In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.

Overall Totals and Trends

The entire seven-game World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.

Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.

The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance after 2017.

MLB announced that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.

Sean Hart
Sean Hart

A tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and cybersecurity, passionate about empowering businesses through innovation.