Football tops among televised sports in the US, Q3 2023

Results from Kagan's US Consumer Insights online survey conducted in the third quarter of 2023 show football as the most-watched major global sport, followed by baseball and basketball. Survey respondents were aged 18 or older and were asked to select sports that they or anyone in their household typically view.

The age of respondents who reported each sport being viewed in their home varied significantly across sports, with many US sports viewing audiences tilting noticeably towards older viewers aged 45 and up. Combat sports, soccer, pro wrestling and basketball had the largest share of viewers under the age of 45 — in the 52% to 62% range of viewers for each sport — while golf, hockey and motorsports each saw 60% or more of viewers reporting they were aged 45 or older.

Higher-income homes making $100,000 or more per year represented a larger share of tennis and golf viewers than other major sports, compared to combat sports and pro wrestling on the other end of the income spectrum that had the most viewers coming from homes with less than $50,000 in total annual household income. Among the traditional "Big Four" US sports of football, baseball, basketball and hockey, there was relatively little difference in the household income of viewing homes.

Respondents who reported sports being viewed in their homes were asked additional questions to assess which individual leagues and tournaments were watched. The Super Bowl and NFL contests were watched by 45% of US online households, while the MLB, NCAA college football and the NBA were also popular choices viewed by more than 20% of online homes.

Viewer demographics for leagues and events that were watched by 10% or more of online households reveal a reasonably homogenous viewing base for most leagues, with the NBA, FIFA World Cup and UFC the standouts as far as attracting younger, more diverse viewing audiences.