The thrilling extra-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51M spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Details
The Saturday memorable game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 various languages.
