Tops of sports

Media trends shaping sports marketing for 2026

Discover sports fan behavior trends from 2025 and insights fueling the industry to plan your sports sponsorship strategy with confidence.

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Tops of sports

Media trends shaping sports marketing for 2026

Discover sports fan behavior trends from 2025 and insights fueling the industry to plan your sports sponsorship strategy with confidence.

Download now

Start your 2026 strategy now.

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The post Tops of Sports – Media trends shaping sports marketing for 2026 appeared first on Nielsen.

The tournament is set to significantly boost soccer’s popularity, with 37% of the general population expecting their interest in the sport to increase over the next 18 months.¹ Currently, 74% of dedicated current World Cup fans also foresee their interest growing even further. But most notably, Hispanic communities and younger audiences are leading the way in driving soccer’s over popularity and engagement.²

Where to engage with fans

There’s a significant opportunity for in-person engagement and localized activations with 25% of World Cup fans planning to attend the games.³ Fans attending games in host cities also intend to engage in a variety of activities beyond just the matches themselves, indicating an interest in a broader festival atmosphere and exploring local culture and attractions.

This data highlights a strong inclination among U.S. World Cup fans to immerse themselves fully in the event, both inside and outside the stadiums. 

And for those not attending the games, 67% of U.S. World Cup fans and 30% of the U.S. general population plan on watching full games, further underscoring significant engagement opportunities outside of the in person action.⁴

Connecting on digital platforms

What fans are interested in

Similarly to in-person attendees for the games, World Cup fans in general demonstrate a strong inclination towards cultural experiences. 

A significant 71% are interested in attending music concerts, compared to just 57% of the general population.⁵ This interest is even more pronounced among Hispanic World Cup fans, with 76% expressing interest in live music.⁶ Similarly, 69% of World Cup fans are interested in arts and culture (vs. 52% general population), a figure that jumps to 78% for Hispanic World Cup fans, indicating a strong overall overindex compared to the general population in both areas.⁷ Hispanic fans also show a strong interest in team merchandise as they are more than two times as likely to have purchased Major League Soccer or team gear in the past 12 months than the total U.S. population.⁸

It’s also important for brands to know perceptions and attitudes of their fans—and U.S. soccer fans are leaning in. Soccer fans overall, compared with NBA, MLB and NFL fans, are more responsive to choosing brand sponsored products, care more about social engagement, stay informed about brand sponsors and buy more sponsored products after watching a game.

There’s also several standout areas for what U.S.-based World Cup fans are interested in compared to the general population.

• Investment — Overall U.S. World Cup fans are 78% more likely to be interested in cryptocurrency and 55% more likely to be interested in stocks.
• Social themes — 52% of World Cup fans and 63% of Hispanic fans are more likely to be interested in social causes and themes.
• Entertainment — 38% of World Cup fans and 49% of Hispanic fans are more likely to be interested in video games or mobile games.⁹

Prepare to kick off 2026

The soccer fandom in the U.S. is buzzing, bringing passion and excitement as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ draws closer in June 2026. Do you have a plan in place to take advantage of this momentous cultural moment? Get advanced insight data into the soccer fandom to get ahead of the game with our 2026 Soccer Fan Insights.

For more soccer and sports sponsorship trends, our 2025 Global Sports Report and 2025 Hispanic DIS Report have further soccer trends and insights to support your brand strategies ahead of the big tournament and beyond.

Notes: 
^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9}  Nielsen Fan Insights (April-June 2025)
⁸ Scarborough USA+ 2025 Release 1 Total (Jan 2024-May 2025)

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Who are tennis fans? 

A fundamental understanding of the tennis fanbase is the cornerstone of any successful strategy. These passionate individuals are the lifeblood of the sport. The good news is that tennis was among the most popular sports in 2024, demonstrating its widespread appeal across the globe. And over the last four years, Nielsen Fan Insights data shows that the global fandom for tennis has grown, reaching 33% in 2025.

Tennis’ popularity transcends age groups. The sport’s diverse age profile underscores its ability to attract and retain fans across different life stages, offering a broad spectrum of target audiences for brands. Analyzing the demographic breakdown globally also reveals a relatively balanced gender split, with women representing 46% of fans and men representing 54%.

The sport’s broad appeal contributes significantly to its global reach, making it a powerful platform for sponsorship and economic impact. To maintain its leading position and continue its impressive growth trajectory, tennis must proactively address upcoming challenges and leverage its inherent strengths.

The rise of other racket sports

Tennis does not exist in a vacuum. Other racket sports, particularly padel and pickleball, have also been growing in popularity. Padel, in particular, has gained popularity in Europe, and globally, the sport has a fandom of 16%.¹ Meanwhile, pickleball has quickly gained traction in several large markets, like the U.S. where 13% of people are fans.² This highlights the dynamic nature of the racket sport landscape and the need for strategic positioning.

The popularity of these sports varies significantly across different countries, offering nuanced opportunities for targeted engagement. To better understand how fandom varies, we looked at some of the top markets for tennis fans and compared how padel fans stack up. As we can see, both Spain and Italy have similar share of tennis fans, but Spain has more padel fans.

These sports present clear opportunities for audience renewal and tennis’ continued expansion. Fans of other racket sports also show strong interest in tennis, with 70% of padel fans and 68% of pickleball fans also fans of tennis.³

How brands can connect with fans

The good news for brands is the positive sentiment toward sponsorships among fans of all three racket sports. Fans of tennis, padel and pickleball are demonstrably more receptive to brand partnerships than the general population. This intrinsic openness creates a highly fertile ground for authentic and impactful brand integration, translating into greater return on investment for sponsors.

Fans across all three sports are also more likely than the general population to see themselves as trendsetters—following music, arts and fashion and investing in innovative products. To that end, top players, with their global reach and personal brands, can act as powerful magnets, drawing in new audiences and solidifying existing fandom. Their social media presence, personal stories, and athletic achievements resonate deeply with fans, making them invaluable partners for brands seeking authentic connections.

The power of racket fans

The loyalty, global distribution, and receptiveness of racket sports fans to brand partnerships present a compelling proposition for brands and rights holders. Investing in tennis, padel and pickleball means investing in passionate, engaged, and expanding global communities, promising significant returns in brand visibility, consumer engagement and economic impact. By understanding the sports’ demographic trends, acknowledging the competitive landscape, and recognizing the influential role of its players, stakeholders can strategically align themselves with sports vibrant with future potential.

For more insights into how the world of sports is evolving, download Nielsen’s 2025 Global Sports Report. 

1. 1. Nielsen Fan Insights, 2024. Countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K., U.S. ↩︎
2. 2. Nielsen Fan Insights, 2024. U.S.-only. ↩︎
3. 3. Nielsen Fan Insights, November 2024. ↩︎

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Case study

Undervalued to unstoppable

Why and how women’s football is reshaping global sports

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Case Study

Undervalued to unstoppable

Why and how women’s football is reshaping global sports

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Introduction

Tracking the rise of a global sport

As one of the world’s biggest supporters of women’s football (soccer), PepsiCo collaborated with Nielsen to chart the global rise of the sport across audiences, participation, and brand relevance. Together, they produced “Undervalued to Unstoppable,” a landscape report built to inspire greater investment, faster growth, and more meaningful sponsorship in one of the fastest-growing fandoms in sport.

Objective

Understanding and charting the brand potential in women’s football

PepsiCo wanted to quantify and illustrate the global growth of women’s football and spotlight where, why, and how brands can invest to drive both cultural relevance and commercial return.

Challenge

Proving the value of the movement

While interest in women’s football has exploded since 2019, many brands still see it as a niche rights offer. PepsiCo and Nielsen wanted to build a globally recognized case for investment—one that captured the sport’s reach, trajectory, and brand alignment across key markets.

Solution

Turning data into momentum

Nielsen deployed a bespoke insight program combining syndicated global data sets across Nielsen Fan Insights, Sports Sponsorship Intelligence, Media Impact, and global participation. The result: a multi-market, multi-channel view of how women’s football is evolving—and what it offers brands ready to invest.

Key findings

Key findings

800M

A growing global fan base

The global women’s football fanbase is expected to grow to 800 million by 2030, up from more than 500 million today.

60%

A female-led fanbase

By 2030, 60% of women’s football fans globally will be female—creating one of the few sports where women represent a majority audience.

72%

Fans want more brand investment

Fans connect sponsorship with positive sentiment, and 72% of sports fans in the UK believe sponsoring women’s sports reflects positively on the sponsor brand.

79%

Diversified interests

Women’s football fans are cultural drivers; 79% are interested in film (vs. 64% of the general population), 65% are interested in music (vs. 45%) and 64% are interested in video games (vs. 47%).

Results

A platform for action and influence

PepsiCo and Nielsen can now use “Undervalued to Unstoppable” as a core strategic asset—guiding internal decision-making, external partnerships, and industry engagement. The report has been used across brand marketing, media outreach, and C-suite presentations. Its influence will likely extend beyond PepsiCo, with rights holders, federations and sponsors using the findings to reframe how they value and invest in the women’s game.

How it works

A custom-built insight engine

Nielsen designed a tailored analytics framework that integrated global and local syndicated data sets across Nielsen Fan Insights, as well as media consumption trends, social engagement, and sponsorship impact. Combined with growth modeling and participation data, the solution delivered a nuanced picture of opportunity facing the sport, and those that partner with it. Outputs included future-forward forecasts, brand alignment scoring, and audience overlap mapping, giving PepsiCo a blueprint for investment with long-term payoff.

Conclusion

Proof that pays off

“Undervalued to Unstoppable” helps industry leaders stop guessing and start investing. It arms brands with data that proves women’s football isn’t emerging; it’s arrived. For marketers looking to grow with purpose and relevance, this is the moment to act.

“Women’s sports fans are expected to be 60% female by 2030, and the rise of women’s football presents a timely, targeted opportunity for all brands to build meaningful relevance. Through this collaboration with Nielsen, we’re sharing the data, the momentum, and the future-facing view of a fanbase that’s ready to be seen, heard, and championed.”

 — Jane Wakely, EVP, Chief Consumer and Marketing Officer, PepsiCo

Want to talk with our team of experts?

Contact us

Want to talk with our team of experts?

Contact us

Download your copy of “Undervalued to Unstoppable” now

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2025 Global
Sports Report

Key factors transforming sports
and your sponsorship strategy

Download the report

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For years, marketers have known that sports drive engagement. And that’s especially true for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) audiences. According to Nielsen’s latest Diverse Intelligence Series Report, while AANHPI audiences spend less time with TV overall, when they do tune in, they’re spending a larger share of their linear TV time watching live sports compared to the total population. 

Asian American fans are also 33% more likely to subscribe to sports-focused streaming services, based on Nielsen Attitude on Ads study. In addition, they’re highly engaged across apps like MLB.com At Bat and BetMGM, driving real-time interaction around the games they love.

AANHPI audiences are gravitating toward sports that center players who look like them, speak their languages, and represent their cultures. Shohei Ohtani, the LA Dodgers’ star player from Japan, helped drive Asian American viewership. The 2024 World Series had a remarkable average of 15.2 million viewers, with Asian American viewing increasing 146% over the 2023 World Series.

Nowhere is the intersection of culture and sports more visible—or more culturally electric—than in Los Angeles. Whether it’s the authentic Japanese flavors available at concessions or the mash-up of African American and Mexican music, multicultural fandom is front and center at Dodger Stadium.

Attendance also rose for Latino audiences at Dodgers games between 2019 and 2024, with the composition of Latino fans increasing by 3%. This is sustained, measurable momentum—and it’s creating a new baseline for audience expectations.

For advertisers, this moment offers more than just cultural visibility. Sports offers a brand-safe, emotionally resonant media environment with a  real-time viewing experience that draws in co-viewing, live engagement, and multigenerational audiences. For diverse segments, that engagement is even more meaningful—because it’s anchored in identity, community and celebration.

All of this is amplified by global events like the MLB Tokyo Series. Ohtani led the Dodgers in the 2025 international season opener, driving a 113% spike in AANHPI viewership over the prior year’s MLB Seoul Series. Black, Hispanic and total audiences also grew their viewing for this international event, year-over-year, increasing 111%, more than 200% and 107%, respectively. This momentum is echoing back home, shaping not just fandom but consumer behavior, from streaming preferences to merchandise sales.

These global sports moments are having local impact. Fans are tuning in, showing up, and sharing cultural pride in unique ways—whether it’s sneakers commemorating Jackie Robinson Day or anime-patched jerseys. Events like Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium lean in even further, providing full-sensory experiences with stadium menus that blend Japanese flavors with Dodger Dogs and exclusive merch featuring world-renowned artist Takashi Murakami that sold out almost instantly. The stadium came alive with Japanese music, cuisine and colors—and the crowd reflected LA’s true makeup: Fans with diverse cultural backgrounds standing shoulder to shoulder, celebrating a passion for sports and culture.

When fans feel represented, they respond. Nielsen’s Attitudes on Representation study found that 59% of AAPI audiences say they wish they saw more representation of their identity group when they watch TV. And Asian American Gen X are 48% more likely to buy from brands that advertise in programming that feature someone from their identity group. Not to mention, Asian Americans who speak a language other than English told us their brand affinity grows when ads are delivered in their language. Representation improves brand recall, favorability and purchase intent.

For brands, networks, and advertisers, this is a moment to reimagine the fanbase—not as a static demographic segment, but as an evolving cultural force. Sports, particularly baseball in LA, is no longer about appealing to “target groups” in isolation. It’s about understanding where cultural connections overlap—and building campaigns, content, and partnerships that reflect that.

For more insights into today’s AANHPI fans and how to connect with them, check out our report Breakthrough ROI: Investing in Asian American audiences and media.

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To maximize the effectiveness of these engagements and return on investment, brands need a deep understanding of the sport’s valuable markets, interests that shape cricket’s devoted fans worldwide, and impactful ways to leverage emotional connections between fans and the game to drive measurable results.

Cricket’s global reach

Reaching global cricket audiences effectively requires advertisers to move beyond broad generalizations. The sport’s reach, while extensive, is characterized by significant regional differences in fan behavior and market dynamics-factors that are essential to connecting meaningfully with this diverse audience. 

India stands out as the most significant market in the global cricket landscape, where a remarkable 66.1% of people are fans of the sport, the highest amongst the countries we looked at. Beyond India, the UAE also shows significant traction, with 52.2% of people demonstrating strong interest.

Cricket maintains solid and loyal fan bases in countries like Australia, where 34.2% of the individuals said they are interested or very interested, followed by New Zealand at 27.9%, and the U.K. at 25.5%. Advertisers looking to tap into such established markets with a history of strong fan loyalty can find significant value in reaching these cricket fans. 

However, alongside these established markets, it’s equally important to consider emerging markets when anticipating future shifts in market share. The U.S., for example, has a lower level of interest, with fans representing 12.8% of Americans. Despite this, the market presents an attractive proposition for brands as it represents a sizable group within the large U.S. population and a significant 71.9% of U.S. cricket fans agree that companies sponsoring sports gain appeal with the audience, compared with just 51% of the general population.

Leveraging cricket’s appeal 

Cricket fans’ engagement extends beyond the boundary rope, creating a fertile ground for brand partnerships. The sport’s passionate fan base doesn’t just consume content—they actively engage with the brands that support their beloved game. Engaging in this way creates powerful dynamics for sponsorship effectiveness.

• Influencing purchase decisions

Cricket fans show a strong tendency to favor brands that sponsor the sport. In regions where cricket enthusiasm is high, consumers are more likely to choose a sponsor’s product over a competitor’s when price and quality are comparable. In the UAE, 69% of cricket fans prefer sponsor brands versus 60.6% of the total population. India shows 61.1% of fans preferring sponsors compared to 56.7% overall, and the UK sees 44.3% of fans preferring sponsors against 31.2% of the general population.

• Boosting brand recall

Cricket has the capacity to boost brand recognition, especially within its dedicated fan base. Fans report an enhanced ability to remember sponsoring companies’ names compared to general advertising. In the U.S., 74.3% of cricket fans report stronger ability to recall brands through sponsorships, compared to 49.5% non-cricket fans. The UAE also shows impressive figures, with 72% of cricket fans exhibiting this effect, compared to 66.4% of the general audience. In India, 64.7% of cricket fans show better recall, compared to 60.1% of others who aren’t fans.

• Driving engagement

Cricket fans display a more proactive interest in sponsor brands than others, actively informing themselves about brands engaged as a sponsor in sport. In the UAE, 70.5% of cricket fans actively inform themselves about brands engaged as a sponsor in sport, compared to 63.5% of the general population. The U.S. also exhibits this trend, with 66.4% of cricket fans engaging in this behavior, compared to just 28.4% of those outside the cricket fanbase. India follows suit, with 58.1% of cricket fans actively informing themselves about brands engaged as a sponsor in sport, compared to 53.9% of the general population.

Cricket fans’ other interests

Cricket fandom doesn’t exist in isolation. Across various countries, cricket fans consistently demonstrate strong interest for the most popular national or regional sports, creating valuable opportunities for strategic integrated marketing efforts that combine cricket advertising with campaigns targeting fans of other sports. 

When looking at sports other than cricket, football/soccer and tennis show widespread popularity among cricket fans in various countries. Football/soccer ranks within the top three interests in India, New Zealand, U.K., U.S. the UAE. Regional sports are also highly popular—such as Australian rules football in Australia and rugby league and rugby/rugby union in New Zealand. The established sporting cultures of these countries significantly shape sporting preferences beyond cricket. The top rankings of baseball among the U.S. cricket fans, and strong interest in Kabaddi in India, serve as examples of this alignment.

Understanding these nuances of fan behavior and market dynamics is important for optimizing advertising campaigns within the cricket landscape. To drive fan growth and connection globally by understanding fan interests, media habits, and brand attitudes with Nielsen Fan Insights, marketers can gain the deeper fan understanding needed to maximize campaign performance and prove ROI. Learn more about measuring your ad campaign’s success during events like the Tata Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL) on our website.

Source notes:

¹ Dominance of Cricket in Commonwealth Nations: A Sporting Legacy

All data presented in this article is from Nielsen Fan Insights (November 2024: Australia, India, New Zealand, UK, May 2024: UAE, August 2024: U.S).

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Fan habits and trends

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1. The WNBA sets new records

There’s been growing fan momentum around women’s sports for a few years now, and  basketball has been at the center of it. The WNBA and Women’s College Basketball have both seen growing interest among U.S. adults this season. The WNBA has experienced the largest growth, with interest in the league increasing by 29% year-over-year according to Nielsen Fan Insights. As star athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink have made a name for themselves in college, excitement is clearly carrying over to the start of their professional careers this year.

WNBA regular season coverage across Disney channels and ION averaged 942,000 viewers, a 201% increase over the prior season. Even when including NBA TV games, the 660,000 total audience average was markedly higher than previous years. And compared to 2017, a low point in viewership for the league, 2024 was up nearly 800%.

All data is live plus same day, panel-only, reach based on one minute qualifier.

Beyond the regular season, the WNBA All-Star game in July was the most watched ever, drawing 3.4 million viewers, and the finals between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty reached 13.8 million unique viewers across five games. It was the most-watched final series in 25 years.

While the league was already on an upward trajectory in terms of viewership, one has to wonder if the NIL (Name, image and likeness) era of college sports has helped super charge these young athletes’ social presence and increase interest in the game. The good news for brands looking to tap into and support this rise in popularity is that investments in women’s basketball can pay off. Compared to other sports fans, WNBA fans are much more likely to engage with a brand online, talk about the brand with friends and family and actually make purchases, and 60% of WNBA fans are likely to recommend a brand sponsor to others¹. 

2. NBCU establishes a new standard for major event coverage with the 2024 Paris Summer Games

NBCUniversal went big with its coverage of the 2024 Paris Summer Games–really big. With 7,000 hours of coverage and all events running live on Peacock, it set a new standard for what was possible with major multi-event competitions. And, it paid off. NBC’s primetime coverage was up 13% compared to Tokyo even though it was not live.

And, looking at our August 2024 Media Distributor Gauge, NBCUniversal added a stunning 3.9 share points compared to July thanks to its Olympic coverage. Peacock, meanwhile, saw a 39% bump in viewership and doubled its adult 35-49 audience month-over-month.

Publishers aren’t the only ones benefiting from sporting events such as the Olympics; the games are a powerful example of the impact that long-range sports partnerships can have on brand awareness. With a decades-long sponsorship of the Olympics, Visa saw 49% of U.S. consumers aware of its association with the sporting event in May 2024 ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Games, a 12-point increase from 37% ahead of the Tokyo Games in 2021, according to Nielsen Fan Insights. 

3. The MLB postseason hits a six-year high

As Major League Baseball’s regular season wrapped and the playoffs began, fans were treated to a little bit of everything in terms of storylines. You had underdogs the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers completing remarkable turnarounds to nab their places in the Wildcard round. Then you had powerhouses the L.A. Dodgers and New York Yankees, the number one seeds from each league and home to some of the biggest stars in baseball.

The result: every round of the playoffs saw increased viewing compared to 2023, with the Divisional round achieving its highest average audience since 2015. The Mets and Dodgers were particular draws.

Ultimately, it would be the Yankees and Dodgers who faced each other in the World Series for the first time since 1981, reigniting one of the biggest rivalries in the game’s history. Beyond the legacy, the matchup featured American and National League MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, and of course, the top two TV markets in the country.

The 2024 World Series’ average of 15.2 million viewers was the highest since 2017 and propelled the postseason as a whole to its best total since 2019. There’s no question, it was a win for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox, who shared carriage of the postseason. In Fox’s case, it helped propel them to a big October, in which they gained 1.1 share points in our Media Distributor Gauge.

Live+SD, panel-only, includes only Live games

4. Brand opportunities abound in baseball and basketball

As viewers tuned in to baseball in record numbers, brands also benefited through sponsorships. In total, the top 10 most valuable sports sponsorship assets delivered almost $340 million in media value for brands in 2024, and all 10 opportunities in terms of sports sponsorship value came from either the MLB or the NBA. In particular, teams that make it to the finals can create significant media value for brands sponsoring them. The L.A. Dodgers, winners of the 2024 World Series, saw player jersey patch sponsorships and field-level branding earn top spots, while this year’s NBA Final winner the Boston Celtics ranked for on court branding. 

Much of this simply reflects the amount of airtime MLB and NBA sponsorships get due to the amount of games played, compared to NFL games for example. As a result, MLB jersey patches and NBA on court signage are some of the most valuable team partnerships within sports. 

5. Streaming gains an increasing share of major sports

We’ve already touched on the substantial role Peacock played in NBCU’s coverage of the 2024 Summer Games, but it’s part of a larger trend of live sports shifting toward streaming platforms. Beyond simulcasting games that may be airing on broadcast or cable, there is an increasing number of major events that are exclusively streamed.

Prime Video’s coverage of NFL Thursday Night Football games is the standard bearer on this front, and it set the stage for the rights negotiations and programming strategies that came after it. Shortly after Amazon scored the exclusive rights to TNF, the NHL signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that included streaming rights for Max via its Bleacher Report sports add-on. 

Peacock carried an exclusive Friday night NFL game from Brazil in week one of the current season. ESPN+ carried an exclusive Monday Night Football game in week seven. And Netflix scored the rights to stream the two NFL Christmas games this year and at least one over the next two seasons.

Last but certainly not least, the NBA signed its latest round of rights deals this summer, which includes an 11-year exclusive deal with Prime Video to stream 66 regular season games and all the knockout rounds from the league’s in-season tournament. And, notably, considering the first item on our list, the deal also includes an 11-year term to carry WNBA games starting in 2026.

Our recently accredited first party data methodology, part of the larger big data + panel solution, is primed to measure live streaming. Using that metric to look at Thursday Night Football this season, Prime Video is averaging 14.3 million viewers, up slightly from last year. And Peacock’s first exclusive game pulled in 14.0 million. It’s clear that sports on streaming is succeeding and can continue to do so. 

6. Soccer continues to grow in the U.S.

In addition to the Olympics, sports rights shifts, and all the other hype around the sporting world this year, this was also a notable year for the world’s favorite game here in the U.S.

First, there was the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, which was held in the U.S. and featured teams from North, South and Central America. The U.S. women’s team ultimately emerged victorious in the final match against Brazil. Most of the matches were exclusively streamed (further making the case for good live streaming measurement).

Then in June, there were two major tournaments: Copa Amèrica and the UEFA European Championship (Euro). It was the first time both were held since the pandemic-delayed editions in 2021, and only the second time the former was held in the U.S. Both saw increases in their total audiences compared to the previous tournaments, with Copa América nearly doubling its audience across Fox and Univision networks. The Euro was carried by the same channels and saw a bump of 29%.

Though the stakes may be a bit lower than a quadrennial tournament, the English Premier League has slowly but surely been making inroads with American audiences. The current season to date marks the high point of a three-year growth trend, and though Spanish language coverage has taken a bumpier road, the signs are there that Hispanic audiences are embracing it too. NBCU is reportedly pushing for some matches to be played in the U.S. in the future, which could further boost interest.

7. Football wins U.S. viewers’ attention

As we saw last year, the NFL continues to dominate in terms of viewership in the U.S., with 519.4 billion minutes watched over the past year. And football continues to command some of the biggest sports programming moments in the U.S.

In fact, the NFL led viewership at the program level, with all top 10 U.S. sports programs comprising the 2023-2024 season NFL Super Bowl and playoff games. Super Bowl LVIII, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, had the largest TV audience for a single-network telecast to date at 123.7 million viewers. Not only did the game go down to the wire in overtime to keep viewers engaged, it also saw hype leading up to the event with Usher headlining the halftime show and superstar Taylor Swift making an appearance to cheer on Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce. So it’s not surprising that the game took the spot for most watched sports program in 2024.

This year’s big game also helped lift viewing in local markets, with February 2024 seeing 432.7 billion minutes across 56 local TV markets in the U.S.—that’s equivalent to 823,334 years spent watching TV. And despite their teams losing in the playoffs in January, residents of Houston and Buffalo respectively watched 9% and 31% more minutes of local TV during February 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.

8. Stars power teams’ social media value 

As the Super Bowl demonstrated, stars have the power to attract audiences, including on social media. This year, we once again saw Inter Miami CF, where Lionel Messi plays, top the list for U.S. sports teams by social media value. Several other teams on the list also featured well-known players. Having a global star player on a team typically leads to a higher follower count and higher interaction rate as well. For brands looking to collaborate with sports teams, finding the right team will require considering the players as well. 

2024 was an all star year for sports. As we look ahead to 2025, sports should continue to prove a valuable way of connecting with audiences. Doing so successfully requires meeting audiences where they’re watching and identifying the right leagues, teams and players for your platform or brand.

Notes:

¹Nielsen Fan Insights

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