Will You Tune In? Expected Viewership of the Super Bowl, World Cup and Winter Olympics

When it comes to watching sports, football remains the undisputed favorite among Americans. Roughly four times as many Americans report football is their favorite sport to watch (39 percent) as say the same about basketball (10 percent), baseball (9 percent), soccer (7 percent), or ice hockey (7 percent). So it comes as no surprise that more than 7-in-10 (72 percent) of Americans say they’re likely to watch the Super Bowl, including a slim majority (51 percent) who say they’re very likely to watch. Interest in the Super Bowl this year is significantly greater than last year, when roughly two-thirds (66 percent) reported they were likely to watch the game, including 44 percent who said they were very likely to watch. There is less interest in other major sporting events being held this year.

While similar numbers of Americans report that they are likely to tune in to the Winter Olympics as the Super Bowl (68 percent vs. 72 percent), fewer report being very likely to watch (35 percent vs. 51 percent). The World Cup soccer tournament is attracting significantly less attention, with just 27 percent of Americans reporting they’re likely to watch including 13 percent who say they’re very likely to watch. However, more than half (56 percent) of Hispanic Americans say they are very or somewhat likely to watch the World Cup, a significantly higher share than black (30 percent) or white (20 percent) Americans who say the same.

Men are more likely than women to report an interest in the Super Bowl (79 percent vs. 66 percent) and the World Cup (35 percent vs. 20 percent), but equally likely to report an interest in the Olympics (69 percent vs. 69 percent).

Which sporting events do you plan to watch in February? Be sure to let us know! And for more on Americans’ sports preferences and behaviors, check out our full report available here.