10 Most-Watched Sporting Events In TV History

Those old enough to have witnessed England's victory in the 1966 football World Cup final can remember exactly where they were on that incredible day - as do those Red Rose fans who witnessed the 2003 rugby World Cup triumph. For sports fans, watching their side - in whatever sport - compete in the biggest competitions on the planet gives them the ultimate thrill. Adrenaline, hope, excitement, likely disappointment and nervous tension all mix together to create a quite-unique sensation that non-sports fans will simply be unable to understand. What's more, with certain events like World Cups and the Olympic Games only coming along once every four years then it makes watching those tournaments all the more special - and it practically makes them unmissable. But what event has the highest global TV audience? Which sporting event is watched by the highest proportion of the planet? The 10 sporting events listed draw a combined television audience of more than 14billion between them - with the number-one watched tournament alone attracting a viewership of almost half the population of the entire globe. Well, here are the 10 most-watched sporting events on television in the world - and there are a couple of surprising entries on this list, it has to be said...

Rating: Average Viewers: 3.5billion

Yes, it was almost inevitable that international football's premier tournament would be top of this list - with the FIFA World Cup drawing an average cumulative TV audience of 3.5billion every four years. In fact, the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in Brazil drew almost 1billion viewers alone - now that's impressive.