Just over halfway through 2015, here are the 50 most-watched sporting events of the year so far. Click here to jump straight to the list. Click here for select events outside of the top 50.
The year has been marked by numerous ratings milestones. Super Bowl 49 was the highest rated TV program in 30 years and the most-watched of all-time. The College Football Playoff delivered the three largest audiences in cable TV history, and college football’s top audience on any network in nine years. The NCAA Tournament was the highest rated since 1998 and the most-watched since 1993, ending with the largest basketball audience — college or pro — since the 1998 NBA Finals. The NBA Finals averaged its largest audience since that 1998 series and its highest rating since 2001. Finally, and most recently, the Women’s World Cup final scored the largest soccer audience in U.S. TV history.
Even in a year when the good times have rolled across the industry, the NFL has still dominated. Nine of the ten most-watched sporting events this year have been NFL games, with six topping 40 million viewers — up from five last year.
Ohio State’s two games in the College Football Playoff scored the top non-NFL audiences, with the championship against Oregon ranking 7th (34.1M) and the Sugar Bowl against Alabama 11th (28.3M). The Duke/Wisconsin NCAA Tournament title game ranked 12th (28.3M) and the USA/Japan Women’s World Cup final 15th (26.7M). The NBA Finals topped out at 23.2 million for Game 6 (#16), but the Warriors/Cavaliers series generated more audiences in the top 25 than any sporting event outside of the NFL.
Further down the list, American Pharoah‘s Triple Crown win in The Belmont Stakes was 23rd (18.6M), the final round of The Masters 29th (14.2M), and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 30th (13.4M). The NHL cracked this year’s list, with Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final ranking 48th (8.0M). Notable events outside of the top 50 include the NBA All-Star Game (7.2M), the final round of the U.S. Open (6.8M) and the Indianapolis 500 (6.5M).
The 50 Most-Watched Sporting Events of 2015 (So Far)
Numbers compiled from various sources, including Nielsen, Sports Business Daily, Awful Announcing, TV Media Insights, ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports Group Press Box
| # | Sport | Event | Net | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NFL | Patriots/Seahawks Super Bowl 49 |
NBC | 47.5 | 114.44M |
| 2 | NFL | Packers/Seahawks NFC Championship |
FOX | 27.4 | 49.84M |
| 3 | NFL | Cowboys/Packers NFC Divisional Round |
FOX | 24.9 | 44.38M |
| 4 | NFL | Lions/Cowboys NFC Wild Card |
FOX | 23.6 | 42.32M |
| 5 | NFL | Colts/Patriots AFC Championship |
CBS | 22.5 | 42.14M |
| 6 | NFL | Colts/Broncos AFC Divisional Round |
CBS | 23.3 | 41.82M |
| 7 | CFB | Ohio State/Oregon National Championship |
ESPN Megacast | 18.6 | 34.15M |
| 8 | NFL | Ravens/Patriots AFC Divisional Round |
NBC | 19.6 | 34.05M |
| 9 | NFL | Panthers/Seahawks NFC Divisional Round |
FOX | 17.2 | 31.02M |
| 10 | NFL | Bengals/Colts AFC Wild Card |
CBS | 17.0 | 28.30M |
| 11 | CFB | Ohio State/Alabama Sugar Bowl (semifinal) |
ESPN | 15.2 | 28.27M |
| 12 | CBB | Duke/Wisconsin National Championship |
CBS | 16.0 | 28.26M |
| 13 | CFB | Oregon/FSU Rose Bowl (semifinal) |
ESPN | 14.8 | 28.16M |
| 14 | NFL | Ravens/Steelers AFC Wild Card |
NBC | 15.8 | 27.94M |
| 15 | FIFA | United States/Japan Women’s World Cup final |
FOX, Tlmndo | N/A | 26.70M |
| 16 | NBA | Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 6 |
ABC | 13.4 | 23.25M |
| 17 | CBB | Wisconsin/Kentucky Final Four |
TBS, TNT, TruTV | 12.4 | 22.63M |
| 18 | NFL | Cardinals/Panthers NFC Wild Card |
ESPN | 12.5 | 21.68M |
| 19 | NBA | Cavaliers/Warriors NBA Finals Game 5 |
ABC | 11.8 | 20.86M |
| 20 | NBA | Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 4 |
ABC | 11.7 | 19.84M |
| 21 | NBA | Cavaliers/Warriors NBA Finals Game 2 |
ABC | 10.8 | 19.17M |
| 22 | NBA | Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 3 |
ABC | 11.1 | 18.77M |
| 23 | Horse | Belmont Stakes Race portion |
NBC | 11.2 | 18.60M |
| 24 | NBA | Cavaliers/Warriors NBA Finals Game 1 |
ABC | 10.6 | 17.77M |
| 25 | Horse | Kentucky Derby Race portion |
NBC | 9.6 | 16.00M |
| 26 | CBB | Duke/Michigan St. Final Four |
TBS, TNT, TruTV | 8.7 | 15.31M |
| 27 | CBB | Kentucky/Notre Dame Elite Eight |
TBS | 8.4 | 14.75M |
| 28 | CBB | Duke/Gonzaga Elite Eight |
CBS | 8.9 | 14.75M |
| 29 | Golf | The Masters Final round |
CBS | 8.8 | 14.23M |
| 30 | Auto | Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup |
FOX | 7.7 | 13.36M |
| 31 | MLB | MLB All-Star Game | FOX | 6.6 | 10.91M |
| 32 | CBB | Michigan St./Louisville Elite Eight |
CBS | 6.7 | 10.56M |
| 33 | CBB | Wichita State/Kansas Third round |
CBS | 6.3 | 9.97M |
| 34 | FIFA | USA/Germany Women’s World Cup semi |
FOX | N/A | 9.60M |
| 35 | Auto | Atlanta NASCAR Sprint Cup |
FOX | 5.6 | 9.50M |
| 36 | CBB | Kentucky/Cincinnati Third round |
CBS | 6.1 | 9.47M |
| 37 | CFB | Michigan St./Baylor Cotton Bowl |
ESPN | 5.2 | 9.09M |
| 38 | Golf | The Masters Third round |
CBS | 5.8 | 8.90M |
| 39 | NBA | Rockets/Warriors West Final Game 5 |
ESPN | 5.6 | 8.89M |
| 40 | Horse | Preakness Stakes Race portion |
NBC | 5.5 | 8.88M |
| 41 | NFL | NFL Draft First round |
ESPN, NFLN | 5.7 | 8.84M |
| 42 | CBB | Wisconsin/Arizona Elite Eight |
TBS | 5.2 | 8.80M |
| 43 | NFL | Pro Bowl | ESPN | 5.1 | 8.77M |
| 44 | CBB | Duke/San Diego St. Third round |
CBS | 5.6 | 8.59M |
| 45 | CBB | Arizona/Ohio State Third round |
CBS | 5.4 | 8.38M |
| 46 | NBA | Warriors/Rockets West Final Game 4 |
ESPN | 5.0 | 8.28M |
| 47 | CBB | Kentucky/W. Virginia Sweet Sixteen |
CBS | 5.2 | 8.04M |
| 48 | NHL | Lightning/Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final Gm. 6 |
NBC | 4.4 | 8.01M |
| 49 | NBA | Hawks/Cavaliers East Final Game 3 |
TNT | 4.7 | 7.76M |
| 50 | Auto | Las Vegas NASCAR Sprint Cup |
FOX | 4.6 | 7.74M |
