Nielsen: ONE Championship Ranks Top 5 For Global Viewership And Engagement Among All Major Sports Properties
ONE Championship™ (ONE) ranks top five in viewership and engagement among all major global sports properties, according to a recent report by Nielsen titled, “Year in Review: Sports Consumption Evolution.”
[Download the Nielsen report here]
ONE ranked #2 overall in 2021 digital viewership, rising from its #4 ranking in a 2020 Nielsen report, with over 13.8 billion video views across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. It sits just behind the #1-ranked NBA, which boasts over 14.5 billion for 2021. The UFC fell two spots to #5, with 6.6 billion.1
In terms of digital fan engagement, ONE is #4 on Facebook at approximately 16.6 thousand average engagements per post, trailing only UEFA Champions League (#1), EPL (#2), and LaLiga (#3), while coming in four spots ahead of UFC (#8). ONE also ranked #4 on YouTube, #11 on TikTok, and #17 on Instagram in average engagements per post.2
ONE also continued its rapid digital follower growth, increasing its fanbase to approximately 42.7 million (+24%) across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube from 2020-2021 — trailing only the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (+73%), UEFA EURO 2020 (+35%), and F1 (+31%).
ONE also exhibited rapid growth on TikTok, increasing its followers by 146% in 2021 — second only to F1 as the fastest-growing global sports property on the Gen Z-dominated platform.3
In cumulative reach on global broadcast television in 2021, ONE ranked #4 behind the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (#1), UEFA EURO 2020 (#2), and UCL (#3), but ahead of F1 (#5), NFL (#7), NBA (#8), and UFC (#9). Cumulative reach measures the number of unique viewers who tune in to watch at least one minute of a TV broadcast.4
According to Nielsen, ONE also ranked #11 in 2021 broadcast hours with 10.7K hours on metered TV channels, despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.5
About Group ONE Holdings
Group ONE Holdings (ONE) is Asia’s largest global sports media platform with a broadcast to 150+ countries around the world. According to Nielsen, ONE ranks among the world’s top 5 biggest sports media properties for viewership and engagement. Through its marquee sports properties (ONE Championship and ONE Esports) and its passionate millennial community, ONE is a celebration of Asia’s greatest cultural phenomena, Martial Arts and Gaming, and the deep-rooted values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion. ONE broadcasts across 150+ territories with some of the largest networks and digital broadcasters, including Star Sports, Beijing TV, iQIYI, One Sports, Abema, IB, NET TV, Vidio, Startimes, Mediapro, Thairath TV, VieOn, Skynet, Mediacorp, Spark Sport, Match TV, Dubai Sports, RedeTV and more.
1,2,3Source: Nielsen Analysis (data sources: Social Blade, Fanpage Karma, Jan 2021 – Dec 2021)
4Source: Official local TAM (Television Audience Measurement), AGF/GfK Germany, Kantar Spain, Auditel/Nielsen Italy, Mediametrie France, BARB UK, Ibope Kan- tar Argentina (x2.93 multiplier to approach total population) Brazil (Cov% applied to Total Population 211m), Mexico (x2.31 multiplier to approach total population), CSM Media Research China, Video Research Japan, Nielsen Indonesia (x4.88 multiplier to approach total population), Malaysia (x1.49 multiplier to approach total population), Myanmar (x4 multiplier to approach total population), Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and USA, AMI Vietnam, Glance.
5Source: Official local TAM (Television Audience Measurement), AGF/GfK Ger- many, Kantar Spain, Auditel/Nielsen Italy, Mediametrie France, BARB UK, Ibope Kantar Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, CSM Media Research China, Video Research Japan, Nielsen Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and USA, AMI Vietnam, Glance.
