2024 is the year of the comeback for some sporting events which makes it an interesting year for many sports fans. This year is also still far from over, but there have been plenty of major sports events that have already concluded.
But which sports tournaments have had a large viewership this year so far? Let’s have a look at them, shall we?
The Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was finally able to get back to its usual season dates. The 15th edition of this prestigious cricket tournament ran from March 26 to May 29, 2024, and it had been a very interesting season for many cricket fans.
For the first time in forever, the IPL has had 10 teams in total. So, on sites like 10CRIC.com that are providing online IPL Satta, cricket punters had 2 more teams and 14 more matches they wagered on. The Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants are the two new addition to the league.
Based on the success of this year’s IPL and the stricter qualification process to acquire an IPL team, It’s likely that the IPL will have 10 teams for a long time.
It’s not the first time that the league had 10 teams in total. In 2011, there were the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and the Pune Warriors India. These two didn’t have a long run at the IPL because of management issues and it seemed like the BCCI has already learned from this experience.
Anyhow, the IPL 2024 final was between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans. What a great start for the new IPL team, GT, because they were able to win the match by 7 wickets. The highest viewership count for this season was 8.7 million.
The NFL
The last edition of the NFL which ran until earlier this year has also garnered a big viewership. In particular, it was Super Bowl 56 with the most viewers so far which is at 99.18 million according to Sports Media Watch.
Well, any American football fan just can’t miss this huge event. Even non-sports fans in the US would tune in to this. This is a huge day for sports because it will determine the champion of the current NFL season, but it’s also usually a star-studded event.
The halftime show is usually what people look forward to aside from the outcome of the final match and this year, it was headlined by big stars including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. There were also surprise appearances from 50 Cent and Anderson.Paak.
The Super Bowl LVI happened on February 13, 2024, at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The match was between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams brought the championship home with a score of 23-20.
Beijing Winter Olympics
The 2024 Beijing Olympics is also one of the biggest sporting events this year. This was a long time in the making since it was 2015 when Beijing was selected as the host of the said event.
The opening ceremony which was on February 2, 2024, at the Beijing National Stadium was able to reach over 13.99 million viewers. Meanwhile, the closing ceremony took place on February 20, 2024, where the formal handover to Milan took place as it will be the host of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
This Winter Olympics had 109 events on 7 different sports with 15 disciplines which are the following:
Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed Skating.
In total, 2871 athletes from 91 National Olympic Committees (NOC) or countries participated in the event. Here are the biggest winners of this year’s Winter Olympics:
| NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Norway | 16 | 8 | 13 | 37 |
| Germany | 12 | 10 | 5 | 27 |
| China | 9 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| United States | 8 | 10 | 7 | 25 |
| Sweden | 8 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Netherlands | 8 | 5 | 4 | 17 |
| Austria | 7 | 7 | 4 | 18 |
| Switzerland | 7 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| ROC | 6 | 12 | 14 | 32 |
| France | 5 | 7 | 2 | 14 |
The NBA
The 76th season of the NBA also ended earlier this year. The whole season ran from October 19, 2024, to June 16, 2024, and the match that garnered the most views is the NBA Finals Game 6 between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics which had 13.99 million views.
The Playoffs were when many would usually tune in to the NBA and this started on April 16, 2024. The finals started on June 2 and ended on June 16.
The Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals with a score of 4-2 against the Boston Celtics. Aside from which team will win the NBA, basketball fans are also always excited to know which players will receive the annual awards. Here are some of them:
- MVP: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
- Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Smarts (Boston Celtics)
- Rookie of the Year: Scottie Barned (Toronto Raptors)
- Sixth Man of the Year: Tyler Herro (Miami Heat)
- Most Improved Player: Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Coach of the Year: Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns)
- Executive of the Year: Zachary Kleiman (Memphis Grizzlies)
The Masters
Golf tournament The Masters is also one of the most viewed sports events so far. The third round of this tournament was able to get a viewership of over 7.43 million.
The 2024 Masters Tournament ran from April 7 to 10, 2024. It is the 86th edition of the tournament which was held in Augusta, Georgia in the US.
Golf enthusiasts have been thrilled to see this season because it was the first time since 2019 that the attendance was allowed to full capacity. It was estimated that over 40,000 spectators came to show up a day.
This year’s prize fund reached $15 million and the winner’s share was $2.7 million. All in all, 90 players took part in the event.
Here are the Top 5 players this year and their scores:
- Scottie Scheffler (USA): 69-67-71-71=278
- Rory Mcllroy (Northern Ireland): 73-73-71-64=281
- Shane Lowry (Ireland): 73-68-73-69=283
- Cameron Smith (Australia): 68-74-68-73= 283
- Collin Morikawa (USA): 73-70-74-67=284
For the best sports news in your area try doing a local search such as, “Sports in Nashville breaking news.” There are many amazing sites that have localized content created for your city.
