The most-watched televised events in the world

The Super Bowl of February 11, 2024, drew a record number of viewers. 123.4 million people saw the Kansas City Chiefs live as they won the trophy and one of their stars, Travis Kelce, hugged his famous girlfriend Taylor Swift.

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The number of American viewers for this broadcast was only second to the moon landing on July 20, 1969, Variety magazine claims. And that's impressive because, since the arrival of the internet, social media, and streaming, many more people have been following live programs at the same time. The time has past when people had only one opportunity and one place (the TV room) to watch a live show and be counted.

Yet, there are still some events that everyone in the world seems to break their schedules for. Let's have a look at some of the most-watched live events in TV history according to reports by national broadcasters in and outside the USA and the statistics of WatchMojo. Which event reached the highest number of viewers ever?

The historic phrase "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was heard by approximately one-sixth of the world's viewers on July 20, 1969. The live-broadcast event had an estimated 600 million spectators.

An estimated 350 million viewers around the world turned on their televisions on April 29, 2011, to watch what was one of the most important weddings of the British crown.

Ali was the Heavyweight Champion of the World at the time and the favorite to win this big fight. His famous rope-a-dope strategy helped him defeat Foreman and over 1 billion viewers witnessed the fight.

The boxer, activist, and three-time Heavyweight Champion passed away on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74. A memorial service was broadcast on June 10 and attracted nearly 1 billion viewers.

On August 5, 2010, a local tragedy with international interest occurred when a 2,300-meter-deep ramp collapsed in a Chilean gold mine. It trapped 33 miners for 69 days and had the whole world watching to see whether they could be rescued. Around 1 billion people followed the event live.

It was Croatia's first appearance at the World Cup, and after an excellent performance, they made it all the way to the final. Around 1 billion spectators witnessed this exciting match. Croatia lost to the French team but gave an excellent example of perseverance and teamwork.

Sports events draw amazing audiences. On February 15, 2015, almost a billion people tuned in to watch the final match between Pakistan and India, with India being the victor.

What some called the 'Wedding of the Century' took place on July 29, 1981. The fairytale marriage between Lady Diana and then-Prince Charles was followed by millions of people, and this special day caught around 5 billion in one event.

Australia is always one of the first in the world to ring in the New Year. In 2011, the famous New Year's Eve fireworks display in front of the Sydney Opera House took on a special prominence as nearly 1.1 billion viewers tuned in to watch the spectacle and welcome the new year.

The 2006 World Cup final, broadcast on June 30, 2006, was a controversial one. Zinedine Zidane received a red card for a physical foul against Marco Materazzi. More than a billion viewers watched the event live and saw how Italy beat France on penalties in the end.

The Berlin Wall had already opened up in November 1989. Many celebrations followed. For the concert 'The Wall: Live in Berlin,' Roger Waters brought together famous musicians to perform his band's iconic album The Wall. The concert was broadcast on July 12, 1990, and attracted more than one billion viewers.

The Chinese CCTV-1 channel hosts a 'New Year's Gala' (locally called 'Chunwan') every year. In 2018, the variety show had a particularly high number of viewers: 1 billion.

In the image, the CCTV New Year's Gala of 2010.

Rather than Brazil or Germany, it was Spain and the Netherlands who starred in this controversial World Cup final. Spain beat Holland with just one goal, and around 1 billion people witnessed this hair-raising match.

This broadcast won an Emmy Award for Best Live Sports Special. Another landmark was that the Olympic flame was lit by an African-American athlete, Rafer Johnson, for the first time. It took place in Los Angeles and nearly 1.5 billion people watched the event live.

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Elvis never made international tours. We now know that it had to do with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was an illegal immigrant and wouldn't leave the country. When the King finally traveled overseas with his 'Aloha from Hawaii,' suggesting it was a 'world wide' tour, people from over 40 countries watched it on TV. The program drew 1.5 billion viewers.

A World Cup controversial for taking place in Qatar ended on December 18 with a final between Argentina and France. 1.5 billion watched the game go into extra time until Argentina finally beat France 4-2 in the penalty shootout. Even in the United States, not a big soccer country, the match got a record number of 16.8 million viewers.

Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle got married while 1.9 billion people watched on May 19, 2018.

Famous musicians from the UK, US, and Australia held simultaneous concerts to raise funds for the Ethiopian famine (1983-85). The concerts were at London's Wembley Stadium, the Sydney Sports and Entertainment Centre, and JFK Stadium (Philadelphia) on July 13, 1985. Almost 1.9 billion people from 150 countries watched this spectacular concert.

On the 20th anniversary of 'Live Aid,' musicians held another big concert. This time, the goal was to fight poverty around the world. The event was organized by the G8 and South African and 2 billion people watched it. Here we see Pete Townhsend from The Who, George Michael, and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd perform the Beatles song 'Hey Jude' with a group of children in London.

The last fight of one of the greatest boxers in history, Muhammad Ali, was an event that drew approximately 2 billion spectators. They watched live as Spinks managed to take Ali's title of Heavyweight Champion of the World.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the world came to a standstill when two consecutive planes crashed into the towers of New York's World Trade Center in Manhattan. This terrible attack, which also included a crash into the Pentagon and a hijacked plane going down in Pennsylvania, kept 2 billion viewers absorbed for the next few days.

2 billion people watched how France won its first World Cup in 1998. It beat the great champion Brazil spectacularly with 3-0. 

Ronaldo Nazario scored the first goal in the 67th minute, putting an end to a bloodcurdling tie between his team and Germany. Brazil would become World Champion with 2-0, and 2 billion people were able to see it live.

The popularity of Lady Diana went far beyond the boundaries of Britain. Her sudden death was a shock to the world and her funeral service, broadcast live on September 6, 1997, had more than 2.5 billion viewers.

On June 25, 2009, the King of Pop passed away in the middle of what would be his last tour. Some 2.5 billion viewers tuned in to see his funeral at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was held on July 7th.

More than 15,000 artists participated in this ceremony on the special date of 08/08/08. Around 3 billion people witnessed the spectacle.

Once again Muhammad Ali starred in an event watched by more than a billion people. This time, it was the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. Even though he suffered from Parkinson's disease, Ali lit the Olympic flame in a touching moment. 3.6 billion people were tuned in at the same time.

It was the end of an era, and unsurprisingly, a lot of people wanted to see it. The most-watched television event in history, according to several broadcasters and analysts, was the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022. With TV and live streaming combined, it had an estimated number of viewers between 4.1 and 5 billion.

Although comparable numbers for King Charles' coronation in May 2023 are not at hand, royal and broadcast analysts have generally suggested that the viewers' numbers were not as high as those of Queen Elizabeth's funeral. None of their estimates even reached half the amount of 1 billion.

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