Just past the halfway point of 2023, here is a look at the 50 most-watched sporting events of the year so far.
Presumably few will be surprised to learn that the NFL has dominated the list of most-watched sporting events. All 25 NFL games played this year rank in the top 50, accounting for fully half of the list. The league delivered the top 21 sports audiences of the year so far and 24 of the top 27. The Super Bowl, AFC and NFC Championship games and Cowboys-49ers in the Divisional Round each crossed the 40 million viewer threshold.
The least-watched college football national championship on record — Georgia’s 65-7 annihilation of TCU — ranks as the top non-NFL sporting event of the year with 17.2 million. The least-watched men’s college basketball national championship on record — UConn’s ho-hum win over San Diego State — ranks as the top non-football event with 14.7 million.
Other than the NFL, the sport with the most games in the top 50 was the NBA, which took up 12 spots. College basketball follows with nine games across the men’s (eight) and women’s (one) tournaments. College football took up just two spots, but keep in mind there have only been six FBS college football games total in the calendar year.
Most-watched sporting events of 2023, so far: #1-25
The top half of the top 50 is dominated by the NFL, led by the Super Bowl. Only two non-NFL events placed in the top 25, the national championships of college football and men’s basketball.
Most-watched sporting events of 2023, so far: #25-50
Honorable mentions
As usual, this year’s list includes some honorable mentions that failed to crack the top 50. Keep in mind that this is not a complete list, but instead a hodgepodge of notable events — with some skipped (i.e., the 50th item on this list should not be interpreted as ranking 100th for the year).
