The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate over 50 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
