Popular sports
Sport has long ceased to be just a competition. It is now a big media business, with a lot of money spinning around. Companies and streaming services compete for broadcast rights and top athletes get high fees. Let’s break down the 8 most popular sports entertainment.
Football
A game watched by over 3.5 billion people. It’s entertaining enough, and the easy to understand rules keep the fans coming back for more. Among the top ten highest paid players are footballers (Ronaldo, Messi). Among the clubs that stand out are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Basketball
The sport is booming. The first peak of popularity was in the 80-90s of the 20th century. Now there is a new wave of interest. The sport has 2.2 billion spectators and is spread all over the world.
Dynamism is the main advantage of basketball. Fans don’t get bored during a game. The sport has its own rules, which are easy to understand for a newcomer. The major league for all teams is the NBA (USA). The most expensive teams are also in America.
Hockey
Another dynamic game with more than 2 billion fans. Hockey is watched in all countries of the Northern Hemisphere. In Russia 50% of the population is interested in this sport. Viewers like the agility, aggressiveness and unpredictability of battles on the ice. The players can delight spectators with their graceful passes as well as with fierce moves and fights.
In the southern hemisphere hockey is played on grass. An unusual version of a familiar sport, it emerged in the 1970s. The variety is popular in Australia, Pakistan and India. Of course, teams do not get as big fees as their ice counterparts, but the popularity is gradually increasing.
Cricket
The sport is unusual for post-Soviet countries. Competitions are watched by more than 2.5bn viewers. Cricket fans live in Britain and in the Asian states that were British colonies. The biggest number of fans is in India.
The distinctive features of the sport include the long duration of matches. Competitions last for 6 hours over 5 days. The aim of the game is to kick the ball but without it flying off the field.
Tennis
An individual sport with just over 1 billion fans. Tennis is popular in almost all countries except Africa. Competitions are considered expensive to organise, so are inaccessible to non-affluent nations.
Tennis is considered a game of huge money. It carries a lot of money, and players have exorbitant fees (for victories, for advertising). Tennis players are among the ten highest paid athletes. In this sport there is almost no difference between men’s and women’s games.
Table tennis
Table tennis fans are spread out across Europe and also in East and South-East Asia. There are just over 850 million spectators. The sport has few professional players and all participants are from amateur leagues.
Volleyball
An active, exciting game with more than 900 million fans. More than 200 volleyball federations worldwide. Volleyball does not require investment of huge sums of money, which is why it is developing even in poorer countries. Broadcast matches have high ratings.
Baseball
Baseball, which has slightly more than 500 million viewers, closes the ranking. The game is popular in the USA and also in Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba. The sport is also popular in South Korea and Japan. In Europe it is actively developed in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The competition is well promoted in the media, so the broadcasts have very high ratings.
