The exciting extended matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest averaged 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It also stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s strongest playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
