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> I don't think that that is true anymore. It used to be, but sports is competing for eyeballs with all the other entertainment out there. In 2021, 95 of the t

> I don't think that that is true anymore. It used to be, but sports is competing for eyeballs with all the other entertainment out there. In 2021, 95 of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in the US were sports. More people watched the Raiders play on Thanksgiving than watched the presidential inauguration. 1. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/01/10/Upfront/Ratings.aspx https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/01...

lelanthran 5y ago
But we aren't comparing presidential inaugurations with the superbowl, we're comparing stadium visitors with the draw of netflix, social media, games, etc. Sure, the final event of a season always has a large number of viewers (1 in 3, according to your stats), just like any other special event, but a) We aren't looking at only the outliers (I would guess an average soapie episode has more viewers than an average match) b) A single sporting event that has $FOO million viewers does not mean that $FOO million people are following the sport. My experience is that there are large media campaigns to get people to tune in for the large events. They tune out again once the event is over.
- culturestate 5y ago
  > I would guess an average soapie episode has more viewers than an average match Very few of these are special events; most of the games on this list are roughly the equivalent of, like, an Everton-Burnley match on a random Tuesday in February. Imagine if that match drew more viewers than the Eurovision final - that is the level of dominance that sports have over the American entertainment landscape. There’s a reason Amazon is paying the NFL $1 billion per year for a single weekly game package. > we're comparing stadium visitors with the draw of netflix, social media, games, etc. Even on this basis, it’s clear that sports are still thriving. Once this NBA season is over, total attendance for the 2021-22 MLB, NFL, and NBA seasons is likely going to be ~90 million. Obviously many people go more than once, but still: 90 million people through the gates in one year, and that doesn’t even include the NHL or college football. It’s also worth pointing out that two of the top five and three of the top 15 best-selling video games in 2021 were sports games licensed by those three leagues.
- colinmhayes 5y ago
  The NFL is undoubtedly the most popular entertainment in the US. Honestly it might even be more popular than it was pre internet giving us unlimited entertainment options if you look at the value of their tv deals. Having 95 of the 100 most viewed events really shows the dominance of sports. Almost all of those 95 events are not the finals, most aren't even playoffs. They're just regular games that beat every other category in terms of popularity.

lelanthran 5y ago

But we aren't comparing presidential inaugurations with the superbowl, we're comparing stadium visitors with the draw of netflix, social media, games, etc. Sure, the final event of a season always has a large number of viewers (1 in 3, according to your stats), just like any other special event, but a) We aren't looking at only the outliers (I would guess an average soapie episode has more viewers than an average match) b) A single sporting event that has $FOO million viewers does not mean that $FOO million people are following the sport. My experience is that there are large media campaigns to get people to tune in for the large events. They tune out again once the event is over.

culturestate 5y ago
> I would guess an average soapie episode has more viewers than an average match Very few of these are special events; most of the games on this list are roughly the equivalent of, like, an Everton-Burnley match on a random Tuesday in February. Imagine if that match drew more viewers than the Eurovision final - that is the level of dominance that sports have over the American entertainment landscape. There’s a reason Amazon is paying the NFL $1 billion per year for a single weekly game package. > we're comparing stadium visitors with the draw of netflix, social media, games, etc. Even on this basis, it’s clear that sports are still thriving. Once this NBA season is over, total attendance for the 2021-22 MLB, NFL, and NBA seasons is likely going to be ~90 million. Obviously many people go more than once, but still: 90 million people through the gates in one year, and that doesn’t even include the NHL or college football. It’s also worth pointing out that two of the top five and three of the top 15 best-selling video games in 2021 were sports games licensed by those three leagues.
colinmhayes 5y ago
The NFL is undoubtedly the most popular entertainment in the US. Honestly it might even be more popular than it was pre internet giving us unlimited entertainment options if you look at the value of their tv deals. Having 95 of the 100 most viewed events really shows the dominance of sports. Almost all of those 95 events are not the finals, most aren't even playoffs. They're just regular games that beat every other category in terms of popularity.