The thrilling extended clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the complete American viewership reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance since 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
