The year 2024 in the Baltic States was rich in various important sporting events that attracted a large number of spectators.
While the most popular sports vary by country, some general trends stand out: in Latvia, ice hockey takes the lead, in Lithuania, it’s basketball and football, whereas in Estonia, watching sports is a less common pastime.
In this article, we will take a detailed look at the most watched sports events in the Baltic States, as well as provide an overview of global trends to understand which sporting events attracted the most viewers elsewhere in the world.
Latvia: The Dominance of Ice Hockey and the Popularity of Other Sports
It’s no surprise that the most watched sports broadcasts in Latvia in 2024 were related to ice hockey.
At the 2023 World Championship in Tampere, in the game for 3rd place, the Latvian national ice hockey team defeated the USA team with a score 4:3 and for the first time in history won bronze medals.
Back then, after the Latvian hockey players won bronze, congratulations were sent to our national team on social media from all over the world.
Therefore, it is only natural that the 2024 World Ice Hockey Championship was one of the most watched sports events in Latvia, and many games achieved significant viewing time.
TOP 5 Most Watched Latvian Ice Hockey Games at the World Championship:
- Latvia vs. Slovakia
- Latvia vs. France
- Poland vs. Latvia
- Latvia vs. USA
- Kazakhstan vs. Latvia
This data clearly shows that Latvian sports fans follow hockey closely and watch their national team’s games with great enthusiasm.
It should be noted that broadcasts of other hockey games also generated great interest, such as Latvia’s U20 World Championship quarterfinal match against Germany and the decisive match of the IIHF Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where Latvia defeated France on September 1.
Ice hockey in Latvia is more than just a sport – it has become a powerful symbol of national identity.
Despite the dominance of ice hockey, other sports, such as games of UEFA Champions League and EuroLeague Basketball, were also among the most watched sporting events:
- Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
- Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
- EuroLeague Semifinal: Panathinaikos vs. Fenerbahce
Although ice hockey is the most popular sport in Latvia, international football and basketball competitions are still able to attract large audiences.
Lithuania: Popularity of Football and Basketball
To our neighbors – in Lithuania – the greatest interest among sports fans was generated by the European Football Championship.
Football is becoming increasingly popular in this country, and major European football tournaments attract significant viewership.
All the most watched broadcasts were related to the European football finals, and the TOP 5 looks like as follows:
- Spain vs. England
- Netherlands vs. England
- Spain vs. France
- Portugal vs. France
- Portugal vs. Slovenia
At the same time, basketball has always been an important sport in Lithuania, and this trend generally continued in 2024 as well.
Interestingly, the biggest basketball derby in the Baltic region has long been between two Lithuanian powerhouses – Kaunas “Žalgiris” and Vilnius “Rytas”. Statistics from 2024 further confirm this:
- “Žalgiris” vs. “Rytas”
- “Žalgiris” vs. “Rytas”
- “Rytas” vs. “Žalgiris”
Interestingly, 17-year-old Lithuanian breakdancer Dominika Banevič, known by her stage name “Nicka”, gained significant popularity among viewers in Lithuania after becoming the silver medalist in breakdancing at the Paris Olympic Games.
Estonia: Less Interest in Sports Broadcasts
Unlike Latvia and Lithuania, sports broadcasts in Estonia failed to enter the TOP 200 of the country’s most watched television programmes in 2024.
The most watched sports broadcast was the European Football Championship Final between Spain and England, but other championship games also attracted moderate audiences:
- France vs. Belgium
- Croatia vs. Italy
- England vs. Slovakia
- England vs. Switzerland
In Estonia in 2024, football remained popular, but other sports programmes also drew viewers’ attention.
The Estonian men’s basketball team won their third qualifying game for the 2025 European Championship in November, defeating Poland 82:78.
The victory marked a major step forward for the Estonians on their path to the 2025 European Championship – a goal they ultimately achieved.
The relatively lower viewership of sports broadcasts in Estonia compared to Latvia and Lithuania may be attributed to the absence of internationally competitive hockey and basketball teams capable of drawing a significant fan attention.
Global Trends and the Most Watched Sports Events in the World
In addition to the most watched broadcasts in the Baltic States, several global sporting events took place in the world in 2024, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers.
Let’s begin with the UEFA European Football Championship, which became one of the most-streamed sporting events, even surpassing the Paris 2024 Olympics in global viewership.
According to available data, the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament reached over 5 billion viewers worldwide, representing approximately 84% of the global audience potential.
The Paris 2024 Olympics also attracted a similar audience, reaching 5 billion viewers.
While both events had a remarkable global reach, UEFA Euro 2024 may have slightly edged out the Olympics in terms of total viewership.
Meanwhile, Super Bowl LVIII became the most-watched television broadcast since 1969, drawing an average of 123.7 million viewers across all platforms.
Let’s not forget the historic Super Bowl game of 2024, where the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed over the San Francisco 49ers in a dramatic 25:22 overtime victory.
The boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, streamed on Netflix, also made history as the platform’s most-watched live event, drawing an average of 108 million global viewers and 65 million concurrent streamers.
Similarly, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Final attracted 18.7 million viewers in the United States, becoming the most-watched women’s basketball game in US history.
