A recent report from Nielsen reveals a significant increase in live sports viewership among Asian Americans, indicating this demographic’s growing influence on the landscape of sports consumption.
The study found that the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) audience spends 15% more time watching live sports compared to the general population, highlighting the shifting dynamics in sports viewership.
Live sports consistently attract the largest audiences across both traditional television and streaming services. With a notable shift towards streaming platforms, the pay TV subscription model has seen a decrease. An expanding array of sports content, often exclusive to streaming services, is now available to audiences.
This trend has prompted advertisers to allocate more resources toward live sports advertising, recognizing the growing relevance of the AANHPI demographic. According to the Nielsen report, this audience’s diverse media consumption habits suggest that it is crucial for marketers to engage with this segment effectively.
Stacie de Armas, senior vice president of diverse insights and intelligence at Nielsen, emphasized the importance of cultural connections in digital marketing strategies, noting that Asian American consumers are driving trends in digital media usage. They are engaging with interactive and shoppable advertising formats at rates surpassing the general populace.
Furthermore, Nielsen reported that AANHPI consumers are highly digitally connected, logging an average of nine hours and six minutes online each week—approximately an hour more than the average US adult.
Since the beginning of the year, streaming accounts for 53% of total TV time among Asian Americans, marking a substantial increase of 45% from the previous year, with YouTube capturing 20% of that viewership.
The audience’s engagement with platforms such as Netflix and Amazon also exceeds that of the general population, particularly in terms of viewership of programs featuring Asian talent, according to Nielsen data.
Notably, a dramatic 146% spike in Asian American viewership was recorded during the 2024 World Series, which featured the Los Angeles Dodgers competing against the New York Yankees. The star of the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, has drawn considerable viewership interest from both American and Japanese audiences.
The interest of the AANHPI community extends to women’s basketball as well, with a nearly 70% increase in viewership for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship compared to the previous year, and a staggering 240% rise in interest during the WNBA draft. This surge is reflective of broader engagement, particularly with figures like Natalie Nakase, who has made history as the WNBA’s first Asian American head coach, along with rising stars like Te-Hina Paopao.
Finally, the popularity of sports podcasts among Asian American listeners has surged, with an increase of 28% in listenership between 2022 and 2024.
