The exciting extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a total 51 million viewers in the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition contest featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic contest drew over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a 16% improvement compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM local time, it attracted 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1M. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
