The thrilling extended contest where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a total 51 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance after 2017.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.
