The exciting 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a total 51M viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB announced this is the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest secured over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1M. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
