The nail-biting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic game averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete American average was over 16 million. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and the network’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
