The number of viewers of live sporting events is extremely high globally from broadcasting television, streaming platforms, and through live venue attendance. The majority of the hours that are viewed through video are based on football, cricket, tennis, and world championships. As long as competitive sports have been a significant portion of major events, they will continue to be so.
FIFA's 2025 expanded FIFA Club World Cup was among the largest club football tournaments and drew significant international media attention. In addition to the Summer Olympics, which typically have an audience of over 2 billion people, other international sports tournaments also draw a global audience. However, the Summer Olympics will not occur again until 2028, and it is expected that all eyes will be on the single sport tournaments in 2025, the non-Olympic year.
Major cricket tournaments
Cricket is admired globally, especially in South Asia, and the 2025 events are continuing to break viewership and engagement records. The ICC Champions Trophy for 2023 was hosted in Pakistan and the UAE, with a 368 billion global viewing minute count - a 19% increase from the previous Champions Trophy hosted in 2019. The UAE had the privilege of hosting the final of the Trophy, where India competed against New Zealand. The final became the most viewed final in ICC Champions Trophy history with 65.3 billion viewing minutes. During the final and other 'money matches', players used various popular betting sites (Turkish: popüler bahis siteleri) to place real-time bets. The 2023 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was hosted in India and, for the first time, recorded shocking engagement numbers, with 5.2 billion videos viewed globally and 185 million streaming users for the final.
The ICC also leads the way in engaging domestic leagues, with the Indian Premier League alone accounting for 840 billion minutes of watch time and reaching a total of 1 billion viewers in 2025.
- 2025 ICC Champions Trophy: 368 billion global viewing minutes hosted in Pakistan and the UAE.
- 2025 ICC Women's World Cup: 5.2 billion video views record. India. The final had record tournament engagement.
- Indian Premier League: Total of over 840 billion minutes watched across the tournament with over 1 billion cumulative unique viewers.
Competitions in Esports
Competitions in Esports have become a global phenomenon, slowly merging traditional sports with entertainment in the digital domain, attracting millions of viewers across multiple arenas worldwide. Esports are now a huge attraction. The League of Legends World Championships in 2025 set a record of 6.7 million multi-viewers for the massive final show, with T1 winning its 6th title.
The World Cup of Esports, held in Riyadh and featuring 25 tournaments and multiple titles, is estimated to have drawn a total of 750 million players globally. Specifically, mobile titles drove a significant increase in shared viewing, with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honor of Kings rising by 63% and 82%, respectively. The highlights shared on MelBet Facebook Türkiye page were for viewers who were part of the global community that encouraged apps and shared worldwide tournaments. This created a massive rise in B2 Counter-Strike and was the de-aggregated centerpiece of the Dota 2 tournament.
Worldwide Soccer Events
Soccer is, without question, the most popular sport in the world, generating billions in advertising dollars through viewership. Some of the most viewed sporting events in the world are the finals of the UEFA Champions League. This is the top-club soccer event in Europe, and in recent years, the finals have been viewed live by 120 million people. Hundreds of millions of people watch the Champions League soccer throughout the season.
Other major world sporting events also attract people. For example, the FIFA Club World Cup will be held in the United States in 2025, and was recently expanded to have 32 teams. This will be the first World Cup in the United States since 1994. Entry estimates for the World Cup are expected to reflect the event's huge worldwide interest, and it will showcase cross-continental rivalries.
Key Football Tournaments: Viewership and Attendance Overview
| Tournament | Estimated Global Viewership | Key 2025 Highlights | Average Attendance (per match) |
| FIFA Club World Cup | High intercontinental interest | Expanded 32-team format in USA | ~40,000 |
| UEFA Champions League Final | ~120 million (live) | Reformed league phase structure | Varies by venue |
| Africa Cup of Nations | Regional peaks in hundreds of millions | Hosted in Morocco, December-January timing | High in host nation |
| FIFA Arab Cup | Strong in Arab nations | Periodic hosting | Growing international interest |
Major Events In Cricket
Cricket tournaments attract a record number of viewers from South Asia and other regions worldwide. India hosting the 2024 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup highlights the attention given to the growing female participation, as previous world cups have garnered billions of minutes over the years.
Domestic Men’s events have broken viewership records like the Indian Premier League, which garnered over 1 billion viewers in 2024. Primary viewership from the streaming platform in India contributed to record-breaking digital engagements.
- ICC Champions Trophy - Hosted in Pakistan and the UAE, with 368 billion viewing minutes.
- Women's Cricket World Cup - Host cities saw record attendance and media coverage.
- Domestic leagues - The Indian Premier League remains a top high-viewership T20 competition.
Tennis Grand Slams and Other Sports
The popularity of tennis as a global sport can be attributed to its four Grand Slams as well as its general level of exposure. Tennis' most watched event, Wimbledon's Grand Slam, has attracted more than 25 million viewers for the finals alone and tens of millions more for each of the previous rounds. Building on that popularity and maintaining tennis within the mainstream consciousness are other tennis events, such as the Australian Open, French Open, and U.S. Open, and also the variety of masters tournaments that take place throughout the year.
The popularity of basketball in North America is significant, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most prestigious professional basketball league for men in the world. The NBA is highly viewed globally and has averaged 10-16 million viewers for the NBA Finals, which took place in North America in 2025.
Trends in Tournament Viewership
The ability to view digital sporting tournaments has changed entirely since the launch of streaming services. In 2025, sporting events such as the IPL saw extraordinarily high amounts of digital minutes streamed across devices.
The women's events started to gain the same market attention as cricket and other tournaments - the combination of mobile and esports.
- The ability to stream sporting events has seen a massive increase: In several areas of the world, more than 50% of digital viewership has transitioned to streaming services.
- The popularity of women's events is on the rise: In addition to cricket, the finals of other sports have also seen digital viewership records.
- Increases in mobile esports: The popularity of games such as Mobile Legends has soared in Southeast Asia.
- Global viewership is increased due to regional hosting: The Middle East and Asia events have improved regional and global audience participation.
Competitions in Global Basketball
The world of basketball extends far beyond the NBA, with numerous overseas competitions. Though FIBA events and Olympic qualifying rounds take place annually, the FIBA World Championships and the Olympics draw the largest crowds every 4 years.
In 2025, College basketball in-season tournaments gained significant attention for their innovative formats, expansion, and high-profile contests.
In late 2025, the world of Sports competitions demonstrated its ability to host events digitally with the Africa Cup of Nations and other tournaments. These events showcased their ability to expand the format and host events regionally to ensure broad participation and viewership. 2025 is set to define the world of Sports with the Africa Cup of Nations events and larger gatherings.
Overall Impact on Sports Competition Participation
Some significant dates are approaching on the sports calendar, such as the 2026 World Cup, which will take place throughout North America, and the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. These will build off the digital distribution innovations and inclusive digital formats for sporting events and tournaments for 2025.
The continued expansion of sports leagues and new strategies for hosting tournaments are making sports even more accessible to global audiences. There is clearly a digital consumption and participatory growth in sports competition. Recent technological investments in most regional and emerging sports accelerate this growth.
