The power of a national sports brand

AT GGHM, we are first and foremost, gaming industry advisors and analysts. In that regard, we are increasingly interested in trends in the broader world that we think ultimately will have some bearing on the gaming industry. From macroeconomic trends to the minutia of dining out patterns, what effects consumers ultimately effects our industry.

This week we look at the relationship between live sports attendance and sportscast viewership. In doing so we highlight the power of the NFL brand relative to all other sports but also explore the growing clout of the Premier League brand relative to other US sports leagues. This is of particular interest with the FIFA World Cup headed to North America next year.

We analyzed in person attendance at live sporting events within the five major US sports leagues and the Premier League within the United Kingdom and compared that to total television viewership for each league to develop a metric of Viewers Per Live Attendee. Not surprisingly, the NFL is the most powerful domestic sports brand.

Looking at the chart you might say “but there are more games in the other sports, wouldn’t that close the gap?” To an extent yes: however, the NFL still generates more than twice the viewership of the other leagues combined, with over 4.8 billion annual domestic viewers.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this analysis is the growing clout of the Premier League, which despite operating in Europe, generates more domestic viewership than the NHL and enjoys the third highest number of viewers per live attendee amongst all major US sports leagues. That certainly bodes well for next year’s FIFA World Cup that will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada.