Top 10 Most Watched Sports Leagues In The World In 2022

Sports events are passionately followed and loved by people worldwide. Whether an Indian cricket match or a European or South American football match, people commit their time, money, and effort to watching their favorite teams play live. But have you considered which sports leagues get the most attention globally? 

The fact that crowds gather in large numbers for sporting events is clear evidence of their popularity. Some sports can draw the attention of millions of fans weekly regardless of the kind of matches available. Furthermore, certain leagues are the most coveted by fans of online sports betting due to their rankings and the unpredictability of their matches.

Around the world, pro sports is a hugely lucrative industry. These championships feature more than just games of a certain football, basketball, or soccer team. Thanks to expanding global leagues, more advanced products and extreme attention to detail are given to athletes who become more media-savvy daily. Some of the significant competitions broadcast worldwide stand out more than others for various reasons. Here are the world’s top 10 most watched sports leagues in 2022. 

Most Watched Sports Leagues In The World In 2022

This ranking may not be outlined in hierarchical order, but we’ve put together an indisputable list of the top 10 most viewed leagues in 2022.

1. The English Premier League (EPL)

According to various statistics, the Premier League is the most watched sports league in the world. Like most of the numerous profitable sports leagues on this list, this league generates about $5.3 billion in revenue annually, most of which comes from TV broadcasting rights. 

The English Premier League was established in 1992 and quickly became quite well-known worldwide. As it is widely known, the EPL is the pinnacle of football, featuring some of the world’s top players in the most thrilling and fast-paced matches. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal are the teams with the most compelling rivalries to watch. 

Additionally, around 220 nations broadcast EPL games in their territories, and they all have dedicated, fervent supporters. The average attendance for the last three EPL seasons was 38,168, earning it the league with the most viewers worldwide.

2. The National Football League (NFL) 

A total of 32 teams compete in the American football league’s premier competition. The NFL has a huge fan base, and while attendance numbers have been dropping in recent years due to issues arising from parking and the price of food and beverages, among other things, it remains one of the most followed sports leagues globally. We are talking about a league that recorded an average game attendance of 69,564 people as far back as 2007.

Compared to the other tournaments on the list, the league features the fewest games but has one of the biggest global influences. The American Football League and the National Football League amalgamated in 1970. The league has been in ascendancy since then. The season-ending event – The Super Bowl, is one of the most watched single sporting events in the United States and globally.

3. The Major League Baseball (MLB)

MLB, the premier baseball league in the United States, recently broke its previous fundraising record for the 16th consecutive year. For a sizable portion of the American population, closely following the excessively long games of the teams competing for the World Series and the MLB league games is nearly a religion. 

Additionally, baseball continues to be the sport that Americans watch the most. It’s a well-known sport in the United States of America that even families enjoy playing together. An almost traditional image of an American family comes from sporting fathers playing a game of catch with their kids.

The American Crowd has always been connected to the sport. Additionally, it helped bind and unify the country and positively impacted society. The average attendance for MLB games in the 2021 season was 28,830. Founded in 1903, Major League Baseball now has 30 teams, 29 of which have been headquartered in the United States, and one franchise in Canada.

4. The National Basketball League (NBA)

The NBA is an excellent illustration of how globalization benefits commerce. The now famous basketball league started to advertise official matches in many other nations, and this action has contributed to its popularity.

It also encouraged the growth of players outside of the major cities to acquaint new fans. The skills used by the most expensive tournaments in the world are created by combining these factors with the exceptional ability of teams and organizers to turn each match into a spectacular event. This technique is one that the NBA has applied, and it has worked tremendously well for them. 

According to Forbes, every team in the league is reportedly valued at $1 billion for the first time in the sport’s history. The NBA is watched in six continents worldwide, making it one of the most watched sports in the world overall. According to statistics, there was an average of 12.4 million views across the globe during NBA games in 2022. 

5. The National Hockey League (NHL)

Even though ice hockey is not among the top 10 most famous games worldwide, the National Hockey League is surprisingly ranked among one of the most followed sports leagues in the world.

Ice hockey will always be the most underappreciated American sport. It was and still is, but the NHL deserves praise for the impressive valuation it has attained lately. The NHL has been breaking great financial records with each new season, increasing the visibility of the championship and drawing more followers from all over the world. In many countries today, it is already a fixed dial on their sports channel schedule. The NHL has grown to the point that, in less than 20 years, it has gone from a $25 million revenue total to an outrageous $3.7 billion.

The NHL has already generated about 4.59 million views for the current 2022 season campaign. The following season will see more changes as the numbers increase globally.

6. The German Bundesliga 

The Germans are known for aggressively and passionately rooting for their beloved teams when it comes to football. The world’s largest audience in any football league match to date was recorded in a Bundesliga match. 95,211 people saw a league match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at the Signal Iduna Park.

One of the reasons for this league’s popularity lies in how the league management is trying to incorporate the fans into their planning. For instance, the cost of a ticket for a game at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium is the same as that of an Allianz Arena (Bayern Munich’s stadium) Season Pass. The Bundesliga is the second-most-watched sporting league in the world, with an average viewership of 43,500 people per match.

The season usually begins in August and ends in May, with 18 teams per league competition. Since the German Bundesliga’s inception in 1962, 53 clubs have participated in the competition. The huge popularity of soccer in Germany and Europe may have also contributed to this league’s success, but so are the organization and structure. The league boasts structured tournaments, first-rate architecture, and some of the best football players in the world. However, it has been arduous for other teams to dethrone the league champions, Bayern Munich, a team that has now won ten straight league titles. 

7. The Spanish La Liga

La Liga is the third-most-followed football league worldwide and one of the most popular sports leagues globally. The league, which features 20 teams, is Spain’s premier professional men’s football competition.

Apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are the other dominant teams in the league. La Liga, as one of the best leagues in Europe, averaged 26,843 stadium attendance during the regular season, with games involving the defending champions of the league and top-tier clubs in the competition often getting a minimum of 76 million viewers worldwide. 

On a club’s popularity basis, the Los Blancos are the most dominant team in the league history, with 34 competitive league titles and 14 UEFA Champions League crowns. 

8. The Serie A (The Italian League) 

Serie A, the top-tier professional football league in the Italian system, is a round-robin competition. The league is regarded as one of the top ones in football. The league draws an average crowd of 25,237 spectators for league games, thanks to promotional spots it has obtained in local and broadcast advertising.

The league also enjoys huge online media viewership, reaching over 2 million viewers while Cristiano Ronaldo was competing in the competition. The league includes illustrious clubs like Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, and other big names. Inter Milan is the current league champion, and Juventus has secured the league titles a record 36 times. 

9. Indian Premier League (IPL)

Cricket is regarded as the most popular sporting activity in India, and some have even claimed it is practiced there like a religion in the country. A piece of sufficient evidence to back this up will be that the BCCI is the wealthiest cricket organization in the world.

Since its introduction in 2008, the Indian Premier League has rapidly risen to the top of the most watched leagues worldwide, with eight teams presently vying for the national championship.

Mumbai Indians is currently the most successful team in the league, with 5 championship titles. The league draws 31,750 spectators on average every game. 

10. The Nippon Professional Baseball League

The premier baseball competition in Japan is the Nippon Professional Baseball League. The league has had 12 clubs since it was founded in 1950. It splits the teams into two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, each with six clubs. The Nippon Baseball League’s debut is eagerly anticipated in the Land of the Rising Sun.

However, the victorious teams from the two circuits play in the Japan Series, the Nippon Professional Baseball’s championship series, each season. The average attendance for the 2015 Nippon Baseball league season was 29,300, which is recorded as the highest.

Conclusion

The world’s most watched activity is probably sports. It draws sizable crowds into the stadiums and arenas, and a lot more through live streaming and broadcasting worldwide.

Due to the caliber of the clubs and players who compete, several of the largest league events worldwide draw significant viewership. But without a committed fan base, there would be no sport, which is why we’ve compiled this list for your awareness.