Fall Classic Game 7 Attracts Over 50 Million Viewers Across the United States, Canada and Japan Markets.
The thrilling 11-inning clash where the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate 51 million spectators in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series matchup since the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game World Series drew over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average was 16.1M. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various languages.
