The thrilling extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB announced this marks the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-match series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the complete US average was over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since 2017.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 various tongues.
