The thrilling extended matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball announced this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game series drew 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and the network’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 different languages.
