The exciting 11-inning clash where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate 51 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this represents the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic game secured 27.33 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks 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 fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12M. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – averaged 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership was 16.1M. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen various tongues.