MLB said the combined 32.6 million viewers for the opener in the U.S., Canada and Japan were its highest since the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year title drought by beating Cleveland in Game 7 of the 2016 Series.
Toronto's 11-4 win in Game 1 averaged 13,305,000 and Los Angeles' 5-1 victory in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 11.63 million, Fox said.
Los Angeles' 6-3, 10-inning win in last year's opener that ended with Freddie Freeman's grand slam was seen by 15.2 million, the most-watched Series game since 2019. The Dodgers' 4-2 victory in Game 2 last year was viewed by 13.44 million.
Game 1 this year drew 7 million viewers in Canada and Game 2 was watched by 6.6 million, the two most-watched Blue Jays games on Sportsnet. The network is owned by Rogers Communications Inc., the parent company of the Blue Jays.
The opener also was broadcast with French-language commentary on TVA Sports and drew 502,000, that network's most-watched game.
This year's opener averaged 11.8 million on NHK-G, the most-viewed World Series game in Japan televised by a single network, and Game 2 averaged 9.5 million on NHK-BS for a two-game Japanese average of 10.7 million.
The two-game average in the U.S., Canada and Japan was 30.5 million.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb