Letâs just say a lot of people tune in for sportsâŚ
By Mo Hussain, Sports Reporter
The 2010 Winter Olympics were watched by âa record potential audience of 3.8-billion peopleâ
Billions of people around the world consume different kinds of content. Whether itâs soap operas, TV shows, broadcast news, or funny videos on the internet, thereâs content out there tailored to everyone. The sports world is definitely a genre that resonates with millions, if not billions, of people around the world. And although it can be quite the challenge to find exact numbers for viewership, here are five sporting events that generated a lot of buzz:
London 2012 Summer Olympic Games: 3.6 billion
The 2012 London Summer Olympics viewership was unprecedented. According to the London 2012 Olympic Games Global Broadcast Report, an estimated 3.6-billion people âsaw at least one minute of London 2012 coverage on television (76 percent of potential global audience).â Some of the top moments from the games included Usain Bolt setting an Olympic records, Michael Phelps continuing to win big, and Great Britainâs outstanding performances in multiple sports.
2018 FIFA World Cup: 3.572 billion
This event happened relatively recently, but the 2018 FIFA World Cup certainly garnered significant attention. According to a media release on FIFA.com, âmore than half of the global population aged four and overâ tuned in to watch World Cup action throughout the tournament. The World Cup finals matchup between France and Croatia garnered over a billion people.
2019 Menâs Cricket World Cup: 1.6 billion
The magnitude of the 2019 Menâs Cricket World Cup wasnât necessarily as significant as the Olympics and the FIFA world cup, but it was still significant, nonetheless. According to a media release from the International Cricket Councilâs (ICC) website, the 2019 cricket world cup âreached a global cumulative average audience of 1.6-billion viewers.â This is noteworthy to mention for Vancouverites and other North Americans as cricket doesnât necessarily get the kind of traction that other sports get in the continent.
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: 3.8 billion
This is an event Vancouverites are definitely more aware of. Even though many people living in BC and the rest of Canada felt the traction the event created within the country, the games was also broadcasted to a humongous audience. The 2010 Winter Olympics were watched by âa record potential audience of 3.8-billion people worldwide,â according to the Vancouver 2010 Global Broadcast Overview.
Considering how the world is increasingly consuming content through the internet rather than traditional platforms, it will be interesting to see if major sporting spectacles will continue to draw these kinds of record numbers moving forward.
