The enormous popularity of the NFL and just how much it dwarfs other sports is clearly shown by this list of the 50 most-viewed sports events of 2012. The 12 most-watched sports events of the year were NFL games and that includes two regular season games.
The Pro Bowl, which is widely ridiculed, finished 31st, five places in front of the MLB All-Star Game, which was the most-watched baseball game of the year, thus far. The Pro Bowl also got better ratings than any hockey game this year, better ratings than all of the NBA conference finals games except Game 7 between the Celtics and Heat, better ratings than the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials and better ratings than the final round of the U.S. Open.
No NHL games were in the top 50.
Sports Media Watch
With the MLB All-Star Game marking the unofficial halfway point of the sports calendar, here is a look at the fifty most-viewed sporting events of the year thus far.
As is typical, the NFL leads the list.The twelve most-viewed sporting events of the year were all NFL games, with the Super Bowl topping the list with a U.S. television record 111.346 million viewers.Even two regular season games on New Year’s Day drew more viewers than any non-NFL event on the list.
Among the non-NFL programs, January’s Alabama/LSU BCS National Championship Game ranks thirteenth on the list, with an audience of 24.214 million viewers on ESPN.
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