Fall Classic Game 7 Captures Over 50 Million Audience Members Across the United States, Canadian and Japanese Regions.
The thrilling extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a total 51M spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a 2% increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
