ABSTRACT
Sports content dominates the lists of the most watched television programs in many countries. These ratings showcase the power of elite sports as a viewer drawing card. For example, the NFL’s Super Bowl heavily populates the list of the 20 most watched programs in US television history (out of all programming and based on total viewers). Super Bowl viewership from 2010 to 2014 exceeded 100 million viewers each and every year (ranked by viewership):
Game Participants Date Total viewers
Super Bowl XLVIX New England Patriots 28 Seattle Seahawks 24
Feb 1, 2015 112.5 million
Super Bowl XLVIII Seattle Seahawks 43 Denver Broncos 8
Feb 2, 2014 108.4 million
Super Bowl XLVI New York Giants 21 New England Patriots 17
Feb 5, 2012 111.0 million
Super Bowl XLVII Baltimore Ravens 34 San Francisco 49ers 31
Feb 3, 2013 111.3 million
Super Bowl XLV Green Bay Packers 31 Pittsburgh Steelers 25
Feb 6, 2011 106.5 million
Super Bowl XLIV New Orleans Saints 31 Indianapolis Colts 17
Feb 7, 2010 106.5 million
In Canada, the most watched program in Canadian history is the men’s ice hockey gold medal game from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, which saw Canada defeat the United States 3-2. A total of 16.6 million Canadian viewers watched the game. Similarly, in Australia, the two most watched programs are the 2005 Australian Open Men’s Singles Final (Marat Safin of Russia defeated Lleyton Hewitt of Australia) with a reported 4.045 million viewers, followed by the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final (England defeated Australia) with 4.016 million viewers reported. In Germany, the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final (Germany beat Argentina 1-0) with 34.65 million viewers is the most watched broadcast followed by the 2014 FIFA World Cup Semi-Final (Germany beat Brazil 7-1) with 32.570 million viewers.
