In recent years, technology has dramatically changed the world around us. This ripple effect has spread to every area of our lives, affecting everything from the way we work to the way we shop, date, and even stay fit.
If we want to do something easily, you can guarantee there’s an app for it. This extends to watching our favorite sports. It’s no longer an issue if you’re out of the house while your soccer team is playing in that all-important match; you can simply stream it online. But which sports are the most widely streamed in the US?
Football
According to this infographic, Google searches for “stream sports” have grown exponentially in recent years. They reached a peak in late summer 2021 when their popularity score hit 100. They’ve stayed high ever since, with greater streaming interest in some sports than others (streaming interest in basketball is far greater than in hockey, for example).
Topping the list is football. This does not come as a surprise, as football in America is more popular than basketball or baseball, and that’s precisely the reason why it’s searched so often. Football is widely shown on television stations in the US, so many fans choose to stream it online or via apps instead.
Basketball
Basketball is hugely popular in America, with the NBA Finals watched by 12.4 million viewers in 2022. Its viewership spans many different demographics, which explains why it’s so widely streamed: younger audiences are more likely to watch online.
With Millennials and the generations that follow behind being increasingly tech-savvy, many take advantage to watch on the go or when it’s most convenient for them. This means that whether they want to tune in on their lunch break or while commuting to work, they can do so with ease.
Soccer
During the 2021 season, Major League Soccer said it averaged 276,000 viewers across ESPN channels. That represents a huge number of people tuning in and is up from the 233,000 viewers who watched on ESPN platforms in 2020. On Fox channels alone, viewership increased by four percent year on year.
What this means is that lots of people enjoy watching. There’s a huge fanbase out there, and when they can’t see games live on television, it makes sense that they turn to stream sites instead. As a result, we’re not surprised to see soccer coming in third place on this list.
Baseball
Trailing in fourth place is baseball, which has seen declining viewing figures in recent years. While it still remains inarguably popular, TV viewership fell by 12 percent in 2021. With waning interest, it’s no surprise it’s lagging in terms of streaming popularity.
Hockey
With regards to these traditional American sports, it’s fair to say hockey has always been the poorer cousin. While we can’t deny it’s fun to watch, it’s never had the same lure to audiences as football or basketball. Nonetheless, it’s still a widely watched sport on online streaming platforms.
When it comes to the most popularly streamed sports in America, this list doesn’t come as a huge surprise to us. How about you?
