Top 10 Most Watched Sporting events since 1998 excluding NFL and Olympics : r/CFB r/CFB icon
r/CFB icon Go to CFB
r/CFB •
by [deleted]
View community ranking In the Top 1% of largest communities on Reddit

Top 10 Most Watched Sporting events since 1998 excluding NFL and Olympics

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2016/06/nba-finals-ratings-game-seven-most-watched-1998-cavaliers-warriors/

1 2001 Yankees/D’Backs

World Series Game 7 FOX 23.5 39.08M

2 2006 Texas/USC

Rose Bowl ABC 21.7 35.63M

3 2015 Ohio State/Oregon

CFP Nat’l Champ. ESPN* 18.6 34.15M

4 2004 Red Sox/Yankees

ALCS Game 7 FOX 19.4 31.46M

5 2002 Giants/Angels

World Series Game 7 FOX 17.9 30.81M

6 2016 Cavaliers/Warriors

NBA Finals Game 7 ABC 15.7 30.779M

7 2010 Alabama/Texas

BCS Nat’l Champ. ABC 17.2 30.776M

8 2003 Ohio State/Miami

Fiesta Bowl ABC 17.2 29.10M

9 2007 Florida/Ohio State

BCS Nat’l Champ. FOX 17.4 28.80M

10 2015 Ohio State/Alabama

Sugar Bowl ESPN* 15.2 28.27M

This thread is archived
New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast
comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A
[deleted] •

[removed]

u/HHcougar avatar HHcougar
BYU • Team Chaos
•

Eh, 2/3 in National championships in those games... No big deal if the 3rd was an embarrassment.

[deleted] •

[removed]

[deleted] •

[removed]

u/HHcougar avatar HHcougar
BYU • Team Chaos
•

mfw

[deleted] •

Yay we're 1/1. sorry

u/ReggieLeinart avatar
ReggieLeinart
USC
•

that 2001 world series had the New York narrative after 9/11, so it makes sense

u/guinness_blaine avatar guinness_blaine
Princeton • Texas
•

And it included GWB throwing out the first pitch in game 3, almost dead center

u/Cool_Story_Bra avatar Cool_Story_Bra
Michigan • Lakeland
•

Michael Jordan played baseball, you'd think he'd be close. Also disappointed in Barrack and all fictional characters. Can't blame T. rex though, short arms probably don't help.

[deleted] •

Nolan Ryan is a particular standout on that chart as well.

u/guinness_blaine avatar guinness_blaine
Princeton • Texas
•

Really would've expected more out of Nolan Freaking Ryan but here we are.

Snoop and Sotomayor are pretty awesome surprises. Also, Verne Troyer getting as close as he did.

u/chiry23 avatar
chiry23
St. Thomas • Tommie-Johnnie
•

Ryan wasn't exactly know for his accuracy.

u/John-A-Smith avatar John-A-Smith
Utah • MIT
•

Except in delivering repeated blows to Venturas head.

u/orangeblood avatar orangeblood
Texas
•

Maddux getting a little over-competitive with the brushback.

u/kingbrasky avatar kingbrasky
Nebraska
•

Holy fuck! Are we going to have to watch Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump throw out the first pitch at baseball games? This sounds perfectly awful. For some reason I bet she has a better arm.

u/guinness_blaine avatar guinness_blaine
Princeton • Texas
•

I highly, highly doubt we see either of them throw a pitch. Don't know of any background in sports for either, while W at least played baseball in high school and rugby at Yale, then later co-owned the Texas Rangers. He's been involved with the sport.

Also, he was 55 when he threw that pitch. Trump just turned 70, and Clinton will turn 69 right before the election. There's a pretty big difference in there.

jwil191
LSU
•

TIL Texans are the best at throwing out first pitches

Getting my arm ready Astros, DM me

u/Dougiejurgens avatar Dougiejurgens
Ole Miss • Boston College
•

Only time I ever have/will cheer for the Yankees

u/ACardAttack avatar ACardAttack
Louisville • Ohio State
•

Come to the dark side, we have cookies!

[deleted] •

[removed]
u/red_firetruck avatar red_firetruck
Ohio State
•
Rank Year Sport Event Teams Broadcaster Rating Viewers
1 2001 MLB World Series (G7) Yankees v. Diamondbacks Fox 23.5 39.08m
2 2006 CFB Rose Bowl Texas v. USC ABC 21.7 35.63m
3 2015 CFB College Football Playoff Ohio State v. Oregon ESPN 18.6 34.15m
4 2004 MLB ALCS (G7) Red Sox v. Yankees Fox 19.4 31.46m
5 2002 MLB World Series (G7) Giants v. Angels Fox 17.9 30.81m
6 2016 NBA Finals (G7) Cavaliers v. Warriors ABC 15.7 30.779m
7 2010 CFB BCS Championship Alabama v. Texas ABC 17.2 30.776m
8 2003 CFB Fiesta Bowl Ohio State v. Miami ABC 17.2 29.10m
9 2007 CFB BCS Championship Florida v. Ohio State Fox 17.4 28.80m
10 2015 CFB Sugar Bowl Ohio State v. Alabama ESPN 15.2 28.27m
u/Ometrist avatar
Ometrist
Oregon • Pacific (OR)
•

this should be reposted on r/sports

u/ugadawg1991 avatar ugadawg1991
Georgia • NC State
•

If the national championship was played on ABC it would get way more views than it is now.

u/cowboysfan88 avatar
cowboysfan88
Virginia Tech • Paper Bag
•

It really shouldn't be on cable

[deleted] •

Then they should outbid ESPN

u/cowboysfan88 avatar
cowboysfan88
Virginia Tech • Paper Bag
•

ABC and ESPN are owned by the same company

u/Reading_Rainboner avatar
Reading_Rainboner
Oklahoma State
•

That company being Disney

[deleted] •

Yah I realize that.

But they have separate budgets.

u/tidesoncrim avatar tidesoncrim
Alabama
•

Pretty sure the B1G/ESPN deal included ABC in the package, so it is more collaborative than you are portraying it.

u/omgfireomg avatar omgfireomg
Georgia • Penn
•

Same with the Playoff, at least when it's on New Year's Day

u/ibinpharteeen avatar ibinpharteeen
Ohio State • Kenyon
•

Isn't the Rose Bowl always on ABC on NYD?

u/MTT92 avatar MTT92
Ohio State
•

It used to be, on ESPN now

u/los_rascacielos avatar los_rascacielos
Virginia Tech
•

Nope, ESPN

u/tidesoncrim avatar tidesoncrim
Alabama
•

TBF the last time you played in it it was on ABC for the final time.

[deleted] •

[removed]

u/iwearatophat avatar iwearatophat
Ohio State • Grand Valley State
•

Yeah, interested in what it would look like with the NFL but not including the Super Bowl because the top 10 would just be Super Bowls.

u/turkishguy avatar turkishguy
Paper Bag • Yildiz Teknik
•

I'd be shocked if any non-playoff game made the list

u/Brutuss avatar Brutuss
Ohio State • /r/CFB Top Scorer
•

Panthers/Saints regular season game got a 16.3 just last year and it wasn't even over the top hyped. That would put it on here and I'm sure there have been much higher ones. Also one of the Wildcard games this year got 42M, which would beat everything up here. NFL ratings are just on a whole different level.

u/turkishguy avatar turkishguy
Paper Bag • Yildiz Teknik
•

I'm saying if you made a top ten most watched NFL games they would all be playoff games. Would be cool to see top ten non-playoff NFL games though

u/Brutuss avatar Brutuss
Ohio State • /r/CFB Top Scorer
•

This is probably pretty close to what you're after- http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/the-10-highest-rated-monday-night-nfl-games-of-all-time.html/?a=viewall

u/VolFan88 avatar VolFan88
Tennessee
•

The Super Bowl always feels like a conglomeration of the things I'm trying to avoid when I watch sports.

TheZiggurat614
Ohio State
•

Ohio made a ton of appearances! If the nfl was included we would be making zero appearances...

u/puffadda avatar
puffadda
Oklahoma • Ohio State
•

Huh. Figured Game 7 would've been higher.

u/theCANCERbat avatar theCANCERbat
Oregon • Portland State
•

Yeah, my bad. I was watching Money in the Bank.

u/MagnaCarterGT avatar MagnaCarterGT
Georgia Tech • Team Chaos
•

That cash in, though.

u/jimmy4k avatar jimmy4k
Baylor • I'm A Loser
•

It probably hurt that there are so many ways to watch it now, so it's hard to calculate how many viewers there actually were

u/FIVE-ONE-THREE avatar FIVE-ONE-THREE
Ohio State
•

Also there was a Bowl Game happening at the same time

u/Seanehhs avatar
Seanehhs
Texas • Verified Coach
•

There was a bowl game on last night? what?

u/jimmy4k all the PVRs etc do they count? Cause i sure as fuck PVR'd that game

[deleted] •

[removed]

u/Seanehhs avatar
Seanehhs
Texas • Verified Coach
•

What the fuck are you talking about?

u/Cool_Story_Bra avatar Cool_Story_Bra
Michigan • Lakeland
•

I'd argue it's much easier to track viewers when they are streaming it vs when it is broadcast over the air.

u/fearthetree5 avatar fearthetree5
Stanford • Auburn
•

So, ratings are the percentage of TVs tuned to the game right?

u/turkishguy avatar turkishguy
Paper Bag • Yildiz Teknik
•

The first number is % the second number is an estimated viewer count.

u/amazin_raisin99 avatar amazin_raisin99
Texas • Egg Bowl
•

We got two, nice.

u/squeakyguy avatar squeakyguy
Texas • Longhorn Network
•

Yeah, one of them :) the other :(

u/Swipet avatar Swipet
Kansas State • Fort Hays State
•

It would be nice to see the top 10 most watched regular season CFB games.

Schmohawker
Florida State
•

There's been similar lists posted several times. Nothing surprising. Take the biggest fanbases and the games that have had the most national title influence historically and there's your list. Lots of ND, OSU, USC, Texas, Bama, FSU, Miami, UF, etc.

u/theCANCERbat avatar theCANCERbat
Oregon • Portland State
•

Hey we made the list! Oh yeah...

u/FSUcrablegs69 avatar FSUcrablegs69
Florida State
•

FSU vs Auburn had 25.5 million viewers.

u/KudzuKilla avatar KudzuKilla
Auburn • The Troll
•

Did you leave out the world cup too?

[deleted] •

Most-watched soccer match in U.S. TV history is last year’s United States/Japan Women’s World Cup final (26.7M)

u/mjacksongt avatar
mjacksongt
Georgia Tech • /r/CFB Pint Glass …
•

Domestically. The 2014 World Cup final was watched by 1 BILLION people. It's on an entirely different level.

u/vogel81 avatar vogel81 •

If you want to see a different level, check out the cricket world cup. Nothing like half of India tuning in to boost your numbers.

u/pwn3r0fn00b5 avatar pwn3r0fn00b5
Ohio State • The Game
•

I guess that's why he said US TV then.

u/6heismans avatar 6heismans
LSU • Victory Flag
•

I'm assuming this is just for the US. And IIRC the US world cup games in 2014 were the highest rated games the sport has had here and they were like 11M viewers.

edit: nvm, OP just corrected me.

u/s1ncere avatar s1ncere
Texas
•

There is some interesting viewer numbers though. check out group stages vs each other....

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/68281/tv-viewers-us-men-vs-us-women.html

u/6heismans avatar 6heismans
LSU • Victory Flag
•

Goddamn. Crazy to think now that 39M people would gather to watch a baseball game today.

u/turkishguy avatar turkishguy
Paper Bag • Yildiz Teknik
•

It was right after 9/11 and the Yankees were playing. I was living in NY at the time and literally every person I knew was watching it. Even my father who doesn't know the rules of baseball was glued to the screen.

[deleted] •

Maybe if Yankees/Cubs World Series

[deleted] •

I was on TV during number 9! It's just a shot of me and my friend next to me. We got so many texts from people that saw us.

u/jkd0027 avatar jkd0027
Florida State
•

*in the US

u/graptemys avatar graptemys
Alabama • South Carolina
•

We're the only ones who sport.

u/bannedbycommiemods avatar bannedbycommiemods
Ole Miss • 京都大学 (Kyōto)
•

Yeah expected all of them to be world cups

u/vogel81 avatar vogel81 •

If it was world wide, it would actually be cricket. With world cups in second.

u/GoldandBlue avatar
GoldandBlue
Notre Dame
•

2002 World Series is surprising to me. Such a regional game had that much draw. Wasn't the Mets/Yankees World Series one of the lowest rating series?

u/turkishguy avatar turkishguy
Paper Bag • Yildiz Teknik
•

Didn't help that the Mets/Yankees World Series was an absolutely stomping

u/mjacksongt avatar
mjacksongt
Georgia Tech • /r/CFB Pint Glass …
•

I figure the 2016 NBA game 7's numbers were significantly boosted by no one being able to watch Game of Thrones on HBO Now (which was down from 9 PM until almost the end of the game). I know that's the only reason I tuned in.

u/blackravenclaw avatar
blackravenclaw
Georgia • College Football Playoff
•

Of course, they were also probably hurt by all the people (like me) who chose to watch BastardBowl instead on TV

u/SLCer avatar SLCer
Utah
•

I don't think any NBA game will ever top game six of the 98 Finals again.

u/vtfan08 avatar
vtfan08
Virginia Tech • Commonweal…
•

This has be only in the US... No way World Cup (soccer) and World Cup (cricket) and Wimbledon aren't up there.

u/aftron avatar aftron
Tennessee • Miami
•

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/07/29/more-than-20-million-people-watched-the-international-dota-2-championships Soon

[deleted] •

Yes, this is totally still an amateur sport...

typicaliconoclast
LSU • /r/CFB Poll Veteran
•

2001 was the one time anyone wanted the Yankees to win and they fucking blew it.

u/Majik9 avatar
Majik9
Michigan • San Diego State
•

Only* time

[deleted] •

[removed]
u/rkwittem avatar rkwittem
Ohio State • USC
•

I can say I've seen all of them.

It's kind of a shame that the Yankees didn't win in 01 after the Sept 11 stuff but I expect this won't be a very popular opinion either

More posts you may like

r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Time/TV update for Opening Day for AAC teams Saturday, Sept. 5: SMU at Texas State - 4:30 pm ET/3:30 CT on ESPN, Arkansas State at Memphis - 8 pm ET/7 pm CT on ESPN
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

The /r/CFB Flag is going to College Station for College GameDay!
r/MMA icon r/MMA •

I compared what was playing in ESPN during the major UFC events of 2017
r/MMA - I compared what was playing in ESPN during the major UFC events of 2017
r/kings icon r/kings •

Who are the Kings of other professional sports?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

If you had to root for another team that is in your team’s conference, who would it be?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What are some of the best games involving your team nobody thinks about?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Since 2000, what year would you say your team's conference was at its strongest?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What's the Tigerdroppings equivalent for your team?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What is a great college football moment that is completely ruined by the commentary?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What’s your wildest, homer-ist, most most copium fueled take that you’ve had this off-season?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Most Difficult SEC Conf Schedules in 2024: (1) Florida (2) OU (3) Miss St (4) UGA (5) Auburn
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

99 Players / 99 Days - #72 Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski - Minnesota
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What are some of the worst logos in CFB?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Who is a conference opponent that is generally average-below versus everyone else, but turn into World Beaters when they face your school?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What is the worst College Jersey to ever be displayed
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Full SEC Schedule Release
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

The off-season update none of you asked for…my current shirt collection. Enjoy!
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

The need for B12 parity….in university acronyms
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Purdue and Illinois have been rivals but with the Walters hire and the protected rivalry cemented, it’s time we turn this to pure hate. Agreed?
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

What If Universities Had Flags? Continuing the trend - The Big 12

 Gives 100 Reddit Coins and a week of r/lounge access and ad-free browsing.
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 72. Miami (OH)
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 67. Northwestern
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 66. UCF

 When laughter meets percussionMy kindergarten teacher, my cat, my mom, and you.
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

SEC Roll Call - Schedule Chaos
r/CFB icon r/CFB •

Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 64. Purdue
See more posts like this in r/CFB

subscribers