World Series Game 7 Draws 51 Million Viewers In the United States, Canadian and Japan Markets.
The thrilling extra-inning contest where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51 million watchers across the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic game drew 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US viewership reached over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase over last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance 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 tongues.
