The exciting extra-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this is the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
The Saturday memorable contest secured over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US viewership was over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
