Fall Classic Final Game Attracts 51M Audience Members In the US, Canadian and Japan Regions.
The exciting extended contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate over 50 million watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball reported this is the highest-rated World Series finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also is the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game World Series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete American average reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average 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 viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s best playoff performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
