00:00I got him! Oh, wow!
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the games with the most eyes on them across the globe.
00:07What a shot that is.
00:11Number 10. Rugby World Cup Final.
00:13This championship reached a totally unheard of level of popularity in 2023 when it became the most watched rugby event of all time.
00:19Flags are up!
00:21A reported 17 million people tuned in for the first game of the tournament between France and New Zealand.
00:26By the time the final came and went, the entire World Cup had received 1.33 billion viewing hours across all programming.
00:32New Zealand looking for the steal here.
00:34If that doesn't paint a vivid picture of the sport's health, nothing will.
00:37It's the peak of internationally contested rugby.
00:39The game played at its very best with the highest possible stakes.
00:43It's the fourth Rugby World Cup for South Africa.
00:48Number 9. NBA Finals.
00:50The NBA might just be for teams competing in North America, but there's no doubt that it's the sport of basketball played at its very highest level.
00:56Down the lane!
00:58So it makes sense that the NBA Finals are considered the very best of the best globally.
01:03Sure, diehard fans rarely miss a game during the regular season, but once the playoffs and eventually the Finals land, things ramp up.
01:08Across the seven-game series, viewing figures tend to skyrocket.
01:11So three crucial plays here by Michael Jordan now.
01:15Viewership has declined somewhat in the last few years, with 2025's NBA Finals clocking in at $10.2 million, the lowest in recent history.
01:22But the NBA remains a powerhouse in the U.S. sporting market, make no mistake.
01:25For the first time, the NBA champion resides in Oklahoma City.
01:30Number 8. Wimbledon.
01:32There's no tennis tournament that can quite live up to the spectacle and prestige of Wimbledon.
01:36Oh!
01:38Oh!
01:39Oh, this is...
01:40Even to the casual fan, tuning for this two-week-long tournament is an absolute must.
01:44Over the years, some of the sport's best players have had their finest hour under the Wimbledon banner.
01:49The yearly tournament has also very effectively evolved with the times, with online viewing making up a large portion of its viewership.
01:56Not only did its 2025 Finals break BBC records for television viewing domestically in the United Kingdom,
02:02but it also set a record for digital viewers across the globe as well.
02:05Number 7. Super Bowl.
02:11This isn't just an important sporting event.
02:13It's a cultural moment.
02:14A wild mix of celebrities, music, and good old-fashioned football.
02:17In the middle, and it's intercepted again!
02:20People who don't even understand the rules of the game itself tune in to the Super Bowl just to see what happens.
02:24Plus, it's a rare example of a sporting event that has a halftime show that can sometimes eclipse the actual sport.
02:29Are you my friend? Are we locked in?
02:33In 2025, the NFL had their second record-breaking Super Bowl in a row,
02:37with an average of a whopping 127.7 million viewers over the course of the show's runtime.
02:42Sure, it's a primarily American sport, but it's truly a global spectacle.
02:46Eagles fly in Super Bowl 59!
02:49Number 6. UEFA Champions League Final.
02:52If European football truly represents the peak of the club game,
02:55then the UEFA Champions League Final must be the highest level of competition, right?
02:59And this bring Bangalore down!
03:01While it's certainly the biggest prize in club football, there's no doubt about it.
03:04Unlike major international tournaments like the World Cup or the European Championships,
03:08the Champions League happens every single year.
03:10It consistently draws high viewing figures, especially in the knockout stage.
03:14But of course, the final is the big one.
03:15Look at the precision! A little deflection!
03:17In 2025, the global viewing figures were down somewhat,
03:21but even still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Champions League final
03:23that doesn't fall somewhere in the 50-100 million viewers range.
03:27And PSG will deservedly be UEFA Champions League winners of 2025.
03:33Number 5. Winter Olympics.
03:35Although not quite as popular as its summer alternative,
03:38the Winter Olympics still managed to bring in a global cumulative audience
03:41of over 2 billion viewers in 2022.
03:43Hey, good morning to everybody!
03:44Happy Olympic season, Winter Olympics season!
03:47I always like the cold weather sports personally well.
03:49A huge metric by any standard.
03:51The event, which was held in Beijing, improved on its 2018 predecessor by 5%.
03:56No doubt helped along by improved streaming services.
03:58It's always been a goal of mine to be an Olympian and to represent the United States.
04:03From bobsleigh and alpine skiing to figure skating and snowboarding,
04:06the Winter Olympics offer a totally different feel to their summer counterpart.
04:10And by the looks of things, it will only continue to grow in its popularity.
04:13On 100 days today, Milano Cortina opens in Italy.
04:18Number 4. Cricket World Cup.
04:20Its final consistently brings in viewing figures that number in the hundreds of millions,
04:24with 2023's final reaching 300 million.
04:27This has carried all the way into the crowd.
04:30Overall, the tournament's total global live viewing minutes managed to hit 1 trillion,
04:34a huge leap of 17% from the 2019 event that preceded it.
04:39Ah, he's got it!
04:40It's huge!
04:41It's gone!
04:42It's out of the pack!
04:43With major appeal in countries like India, Australia, and the UK, among other places,
04:47the Cricket World Cup's inclusion might be a surprise for some of you.
04:50But don't underestimate how much of a powerhouse cricket is in the countries that play it seriously.
04:54It's India's most popular sport by a long distance,
04:57and continues to grow in popularity elsewhere, too.
05:00Champions.
05:00Champions.
05:01One and over.
05:03Number 3. Summer Olympics.
05:05These events were always going to be among the top dogs in this race.
05:08With so many competing nations in so many different sports,
05:11the average viewer is spoiled for choice every four years.
05:15Yeah, so 10,500 athletes will be attending, representing over 200 international committees,
05:20so really cool to see how many people are coming in.
05:222024's Games managed to entice a truly gargantuan 5 billion people to check it out at one point or another.
05:28This meant that 84% of the entire Earth's population audience tuned in at least once.
05:33This is you with your 11 Olympic medals.
05:35Yes.
05:35In terms of online engagement, it also became the most popular Olympics of all time,
05:40boasting 412 billion engagements and 270 million social media posts.
05:45The Summer Olympics is truly one of the biggest global unifiers in sports.
05:48It is this true understanding of friendship, everyone, that marks an effort toward world peace and unity.
05:54Number 2. Tour de France.
05:56You might be surprised to see just how many people tune in for the Tour de France every year,
06:00but its popularity should not be underestimated.
06:02Through the Louvre, past, of course, the iconic pyramids installed by Francois Mitterrand some years ago.
06:09Its massive TV audience of about 3 to 3.5 billion viewers means some very impressive viewing hours.
06:14Its huge popularity in France is to be expected, but the Tour has major cultural significance all across the world,
06:20especially in other parts of Europe.
06:22Arms in the air.
06:24Mark Cavendish standing on the shoulders of giants.
06:27Now well into its second century since it first began in 1903,
06:32the Tour de France appears to be firmly set in the runner-up spot in terms of drawing viewers to their screens.
06:37It's been an amazing Tour de France.
06:40As I said, like a series of classic races, day after day after day, and the finale was just the same.
06:47Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
06:50World Series, the pinnacle of America's national pastime.
06:53The Dodgers stand tall and win back-to-back titles.
06:58The Masters, the sport of golf played at its very highest.
07:04Kentucky Derby, the greatest two minutes in sports.
07:07But it will be sovereignty to rule the Kentucky Derby!
07:13Women's World Cup, the fast-rising competitor to the men's game.
07:17Another traumatic penalty shootout in this wonderful World Cup, and England prevail.
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07:39Number 1. FIFA World Cup Final.
07:41It's the most historically important and globally significant tournament of them all, and it should come as no surprise that it's so popular.
07:48Here's McAllister.
07:50Di Maria is the spare man.
07:52And how Di Maria!
07:53Glorious goal!
07:55The World Cup is the epitome of a worldwide event.
07:581.5 billion people tuned in to the 2022 final alone, and throughout the entire tournament, there was an average live viewership of 175 million.
08:05Viewed in every corner of the globe across every demographic, the tournament retains its special feeling due to the fact that it only takes place every four years.
08:17It's not just the pinnacle of football.
08:19It's the biggest show in town when it comes to sports, period.
08:22Argentina!
08:24Champions of the World!
08:27What's your personal favorite sporting event?
08:29Let us know in the comment section below.
08:31needs to be shared with us in the comments section below.
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