Fall Classic Game 7 Draws Over 50 Million Audience Members In the US, Canadian and Japanese Regions.
The nail-biting extra-inning contest where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate over 50 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series drew 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average reached 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
