Football is the most popular sport in the world, with 3.5 billion fans, followed by cricket with 2.5 billion viewers (The Sun).
Similarly, football’s biggest event, the FIFA World Cup, is also the most-watched sporting event, drawing 5 billion viewers in 2022 (Jwu).
In this article, I will cover the most popular sports worldwide, the most-watched sporting events, country-wise viewership, the rise of streaming and social media, and how demographics such as age, gender, and region are shaping sports viewership in 2025.
Global Sports Viewership Highlights: 2025 Top Picks
- The world’s most-watched sport is Football (soccer), with 3.5 billion viewers, and cricket is the second at 2.5 billion viewers.
- The FIFA World Cup stands as the most-viewed sporting event in the world, with 5 billion viewers for the 2022 tournament.
- In Europe, Croatia has the most active sports viewers at 57.9% on the continent.
- The Hundred (The ECB’s new short-format cricket tournament) saw 540,000 attendees in 2024, surpassing 2 million in total attendance since its 2021 launch.
- Streaming platforms spent a combined $10 billion on sports rights globally in 2024.
- An eye-opening 74% of young adults say they get most of their sports content from social media platforms.
- The global sports event market size was estimated at USD 452.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 687.7 billion by 2030.
The World’s Most-Watched Sports
- Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world, with 3.5 billion viewers globally.
- The second most popular sport in the world is Cricket, which attracts a viewership of 2.5 billion.
| Rank | Sport | Viewers (Billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Football (soccer) | 3.5 |
| 2 | cricket | 2.5 |
| 3 | Hockey | 2 |
| 4 | Tennis | 1 |
| 5 | Volleyball | 0.90 |
| 6 | Table Tennis | 0.85 |
| 7 | Basketball | 0.80 |
| 8 | Baseball | 0.50 |
| 9 | Rugby | 0.475 |
| 10 | Golf | 0.45 |
- Hockey, surprisingly, gets more attention at 2 billion viewers at 3rd place, compared to Tennis, which garners a billion viewers at 4th place.
- Basketball, despite its popularity in culture, falls in 7th place with 800 million viewers, below Volleyball with 900 million viewers in 5th place, and Table Tennis with 850 million viewers a year in 6th place.
- The last two most popular sports are Rugby (American football) with 475 million viewers, and Gold in 10th place with 450 million viewers.
Source: The Sun
What Is The Most Watched Sporting Event In The World?
- The FIFA World Cup stands to be the most-viewed sporting event in the world, with 5 billion viewers over the course of the 2022 tournament, where the final match got 1.5 billion viewers. (Jwu)
- A very surprising 2nd rank is the Tour de France, which in 2023, pulled 3.5 billion viewers. (Advertising Week)
- The next highest recorded sporting event is the Olympics, in which the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 2020, got 3 billion viewers. Similarly, the Winter Olympics in Beijing, 2022, got 2 billion viewers. (Olympics 1, 2)
- The Cricket World Cup also draws billions of viewers, with the 2023 tournament reaching 2 billion viewers across all matches. Among these, the India vs New Zealand semi-final match garnered 53 million viewers alone, the highest for any cricket match ever. (Economics Times)
Cricket’s popularity on streaming platforms has surged over the past few years, especially with franchise tournaments drawing massive audiences. In 2025, when the The Hundred 2025 winner was crowned as Oval Invincibles, the final match recorded over 1.3 million live viewers on the BBC app alone. This milestone highlights how shorter cricket formats continue to attract huge online viewership worldwide.
Countries With The Highest Sports Viewership
- While there is less data on viewership for whole countries, Latin America had a surprising 90% of internet respondents watching one or more sports. (Scribd)
- In Europe, Croatia has the most active sports viewers at 57.9% on the continent. (Telecoming)
- While India, as a country, makes up the bulk of Cricket viewership, adding a total of 54 million (540 crore) viewers for the 2025 Champions Trophy Final. (TheHindu)
- In terms of Football viewership, China makes up 49.8% of all the hours of viewing of FIFA globally on digital and social platforms. (FIFA)
UK Cricket & Soccer Obsession Still Goes Strong
- In the UK, Football (Soccer) remains the undisputed top sport, with 59% of the total UK TV audience watching the Premier League’s 2023/24 season, totaling 35.7 million viewers. (Premier League)
- A rough of 15% of the population in the UK follow Cricket, as well as are interested in the T20 World Cup matches. (YouGov)
- The Hundred (The ECB’s new short-format cricket tournament) saw 580,000 tickets sold in 2025, surpassing 2.5 million in total attendance since its 2021 launch. (ecb)
The Hundred has also built strong momentum, with the winners, the Oval Invincibles, for the last two years, gaining national recognition and helping the format attract fresh fans.
Regional Sports Events Known Around The World
- The IPL (India’s own Cricket League) is one of the world’s most valuable sports leagues, reaching a brand value of $6.7 billion and attracting an estimated 600 million viewers in the 2024 season. (Cricket Store)
- The Hundred (UK cricket tournament) has been particularly effective at attracting new audiences, with over 200,000 people buying tickets to their first-ever cricket game since its launch. (ecb)
- Super Bowl LVIII (2024) recorded a massive international audience of 62.5 million viewers globally, separate from its record-setting domestic US audience of 123.7 million. (Sportcal)
- The 2023 Men’s Ashes series opener’s 5th day recorded a peak UK audience of 2.12 million on Sky Sports, making it the highest viewing figure ever for a Test match on the platform. (Sky Group)
The Rise of Streaming & OTT Platforms
- Streaming platforms spent a combined $10 billion on sports rights globally in 2024, with this figure projected to climb to $12.5 billion and account for 20% of total global sports rights spend in 2025. (SportsPro, Ampere)
- In the US, digital live sports viewers reached 105 million in 2024, surpassing the 85.7 million viewers of traditional TV sports for the first time, a trend that is expected to continue widening. (The Current)
Social Media, Short-Form Content, & Engagement
- Only 19% of fans aged 18-34 report watching an entire game when tuning in at home, and they are significantly more likely to engage via social media and clips than linear broadcasts. (PwC)
- Over half of Gen Z (67%) prefer consuming sports content on their phones while on the go, compared to 54% of Millennials and 23% of Gen X. (Vizrt)
- An eye-opening 74% of young adults say they get most of their sports content from social media platforms. (Studyfinds)
Sports Viewership Demographics & Future Growth
- The global sports event market size was estimated at USD 452.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 687.7 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2025 to 2030. (Grandview Research)
- The global Sports Online Live Video Streaming Market is undergoing explosive growth and is projected to reach USD 133.98 billion by 2030, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.66% from 2023. (Kings Research)
Sports Viewership by Age and Generation
- The average age of a “diehard” sports fan is 47, with Gen X (31%) and Millennials (30%) representing the largest share of this demographic. (mediaculture)
- Nearly 10% of 18–24-year-old fans only watch highlights and not the live event, highlighting the growing significance of short-form, non-live content. (SportsPro)
- Football (Soccer) is significantly more popular (87% more popular) with younger fans than their older counterparts. (PwC)
- Baseball is most popular with older generations (Boomers and Gen X), for whom it is the top sport, while it is not nearly as popular with Gen Z. (Adobe)
- The proportion of Formula 1 fans aged 18 to 24 has grown by 67% over the last eight years, largely attributed to docu-series storytelling that humanizes the athletes and sport. (SportsPro)
Sports Viewership by Gender
- Around 71% of women watch women’s sports at least a few times a year. However, men are more likely to be frequent viewers, with 23% of men watching weekly or more often, compared to 15% of women. (Parity)
- More than half of women globally watch sports (men’s and/or women’s) at least monthly. In the U.S., U.K., and Germany, this figure is nearly 50%. (Altman Solon)
- A higher percentage of women select major “event-driven” sports, such as the Olympics and World Cups (both men’s and women’s), as their favorite viewing over regular-season domestic leagues. (Altman Solon)
- The female fanbase of the NFL is a crucial component, as 42% of the viewers of the NFL in the US are women of the audience. (S&P Global)
- More than half of NCAA women’s college basketball (62%) and FIFA women’s soccer (61%) fans were found to be men. (S&PGlobal 1)
More Stats To Read:
Sports Viewership by Race & Ethnicity
- The overall population of self-identified “diehard” U.S. sports fans is estimated to be 64% White, 20% Hispanic, and 13% Black. (mediaculture)
- The U.S. audience for major international soccer events is heavily skewed, with 53% of the viewers for the 2024 Copa América Final being Hispanic. (DIRECTV Insider)
- The NBA has historically had a high viewership rate among Black Americans, who accounted for approximately 45% of all viewers, three times higher than the NFL or NCAA basketball. (Atlantic)
