Fall Classic Game 7 Draws 51 Million Audience Members In the United States, Canadian and Japanese Regions.
The thrilling 11-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined over 50 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete American viewership reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million watchers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance since 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.