Cricket is the most popular sport to watch and bet on in India, and (American) Football is the "cricket" of the United States. But which is the most watched sport in terms of viewers?
Let's look at the most watched football and cricket games and try to conclude which is the most popular sport by looking at the viewership.
The most watched Football Games
The most-watched American football game of all time is Super Bowl XLIX, which was played on February 1, 2015, and featured the New England Patriots defeating the Seattle Seahawks. The game was watched by an estimated 114.4 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-watched television program in American history.
Other highly watched Super Bowl games include Super Bowl XLVIII (2014), which was watched by 112.2 million viewers, and Super Bowl LIII (2019), which was watched by 98.2 million viewers. The Super Bowl is typically the most-watched television event in the United States each year, with viewership typically exceeding 100 million.
The most watched Cricket Games
It is difficult to determine the most watched cricket game of all time, as many factors can affect viewership, such as the popularity of the teams involved, the importance of the match, and the availability of live broadcasts. However, some of the most-watched cricket matches in history include:
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The 2019 Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand, was watched by over 1 billion people worldwide.
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The 2011 Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka, was watched by over 990 million people worldwide.
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The 2007 Cricket World Cup final between Australia and Sri Lanka, was watched by over 750 million people worldwide.
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The 2003 Cricket World Cup final between Australia and India, was watched by over 500 million people worldwide.
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The 1996 Cricket World Cup final between Sri Lanka and Australia was watched by over 400 million people worldwide.
Concluding thoughts
It is worth noting that these figures are estimates, and the actual number of viewers may be higher or lower, but it's hard to ignore that Cricket is more prevalent in viewership. When it comes to betting on football, the turnover of a Super Bowl is far higher than any cricket game.
Super Bowl is taking place in February, and for sports betting, there is some good news ahead for Ohio residents as Ohio online sportsbooks will start to take real money bets on January 1st.
Most sportsbooks in India are not available in the US, but there are exemptions such as Bet365, Unibet and Betway, which are all active in both markets.
