体育之巅：塑造2026年体育营销的媒体趋势

Tops of SportsMedia trends shapingsports marketing for 2026 Introduction From the initial whistle to the final buzzer, sports captivate our hearts andattention. 2025 proved to be monumental for sports, with significant eventsacross the globe and within the U.S. Globally, soccer dominated headlines with The FIFA Club World Cup 25™held in the U.S. and the UEFA European Women‘s Championship. Women‘ssports continued their rise in prominence, featuring major tournaments likethe Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Women’s Cricket World Cup. In the U.S., major leagues kept fans engaged. Super Bowl LIX made historyby attracting over 127 million viewers, marking a new record for televisionviewership. October 27th also brought a rare “sports equinox,“ where gamesfrom five different leagues—MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS—all took placeon the same day. This intense fan engagement, coupled with streaming‘sevolving role in how viewers tune in, has fueled a fierce competition forTV rights. To thrive in today’s competitive global sports market, brand sponsors,advertisers, media rights holders, and leagues and teams need tounderstand the drivers of fan behavior in 2025 to effectively plan for keysporting moments in 2026. We analyzed the major trends that shaped the U.S. sports media landscapein 2025 to better understand how sports connect fans, platforms andbrands. These insights will be crucial for making smarter sports marketingdecisions in the coming year. Top sports media trendsfrom 2025 Sports viewers and fanbases are growing,unlocking pathways for brand sponsors to tapinto new, diverse fandoms Streaming is evolving how sports are deliveredand consumed, keeping fan attention for longerthan ever before Brand sponsors have valuable opportunitiesto maximize exposure and earn trust withhighly engaged fans The MLBPostseason isboosting diversebaseball viewership Soccer buildsmomentuminto 2026 Women’s sportscontinue togrow fanbases 5 Basketball delivers onbrand sponsorshipmedia value Multi-platform success:Linear and streamingattract different butcomplimentary audiences Streaming sportsdocumentaries createa new avenue forengagement Table ofcontents 8 10 9 Golf is in thegreen withgrowing audiences Game planfor 2026 How Nielsencan help 12 13 11 Soccer buildsmomentuminto 2026 Figure 1 U.S. viewing to international soccer tournamentshas been growing International soccer tournamentsaverage total viewers in millions Soccer by far is the most popular sport globally, with 51%of people on average saying they’re fans. However, just27% of Americans identify as fans. Nonetheless, viewing of international soccer tournamentsin the U.S. has been on the rise. Last year, the averageaudience for Copa América more than doubled comparedto 2021, and this year, both the UEFA Women’s Euro andthe CONCACAF Gold Cup saw significant increases.The brand new format of the FIFA Club World Cup 25™was also held this year, and the fact that both it andthe Gold Cup held matches in the U.S. likely helpedboost interest. In fact, 37% of the general population in the U.S.expect their interest in the sport to increase over thenext 18 months. This is good news as the FIFA World Cup 26™ approaches.With games to be hosted across North America, includingseveral major U.S. cities, World Cup fans plan to immersethemselves fully in the event, both inside and outsidethe stadiums. The MLB Postseason isboosting diverse baseballviewership Figure 2 The MLB Postseason is gaining diverse viewership withHispanic and Asian audiences Audience composition, postseason for major sports In a nail-biter game seven of the World Series this year, the L.A.Dodgers clinched Major League Baseball’s World Series for thesecond year in a row. This marked the end of a playoff season thatnotched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up 24% from the prior year. Dodgers star and 2024 National League MVP Shohei Ohtani,nicknamed “Sho-time,” not only helped win the series. He’s alsoattracting broader audiences for the MLB. From a cultural perspective,excitement around Ohtani’s star status has helped to boost Asianviewership by 23% across the MLB Postseason. Ohtani and the Dodgers’ influence was also evident during the 2025MLB Tokyo Series where Asian American viewership increased113% compared to the 2024 Seoul Series. Black, Hispanic andtotal audiences also grew their viewing for this internationalevent, year-over-year, increasing 111%, more than 200% and107%, respectively. This year’s MLB season ending on a strong note overall has helpedto attract energized and diverse audiences. For example, the 2025MLB Postseason attracted the highest percentage of Hispanic viewers(14.3%) out of all major pro sports, and the overall MLB audiencecomposition of Asian audiences grew to 6.1% this year—an increasefrom 5.8% in 2024. For brands, networks and advertisers, this is a moment to reimaginethe fanbase—not as a static demographic segment, but as an evolvingcultural force. Women’s spo