World Series Game 7 Attracts 51 Million Viewers In the US, Canadian and Japan Markets.
The thrilling 11-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined 51M spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB stated this marks the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US viewership was 16.1M. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent increase over last year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 various tongues.
