National
#1 Sports Event
The National Football League's championship game—the 50th edition of the game—broke so many records that it set the standards for other Super Bowls to come. A total of 167 million U.S. viewers watched the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, making it the most-watched single broadcast in television history. Streaming coverage of Super Bowl 50 on CBS and N.F.L. digital properties also set viewership records with 3.96 million unique viewers. In addition, a record-setting 1.1 million people visited activations Super Bowl City, the 50th Mile, and Super Bowl Experience. The Super Bowl is big business for the hosting region too. According the N.F.L., Super Bowl 50 and its related events had a net positive economic impact on the San Francisco Bay Area of at least $240 million. Coldplay headlined Super Bowl 50's half-time performance, which also featured past Super Bowl headliners Bruno Mars and Beyoncé as special guests. Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem at the game, and she impressed enough people that she's been tapped to headline Super Bowl 51. Next: February 5, 2017, Houston
National
#3 Sports Event (new to the list)
Major League Baseball's championship event has enjoyed increased viewership on TV. The 2015 series, in which Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, had a total of 14.7 million U.S. viewers on Fox, making it a 6 percent increase from ratings for the 2014 edition. The event draws top-tier sponsors which in 2015 included Budweiser, Chevrolet, and MasterCard. Next: October 25-November 2, 2016
Daytona Beach, Florida
#4 Sports Event
Nascar’s most prestigious championship race continued to thrill audiences with its suspense factor: About 146,000 spectators at Daytona International Speedway watched Denny Hamlin triumph over Martin Truex Jr. in a photo finish at this year’s race. Adding to the excitement in 2016, Nascar partnered with Twitter to promote the Daytona 500 weekend with new emoji, Vine, and Periscope content from the speedway, and the first “Hashtag 500,” a Twitter race among fans that rewarded winners with Nascar memorabilia. On TV, Fox’s broadcast slipped in the ratings: 11.4 million viewers watched in 2016, compared to 13.4 million in 2015. In addition, 2016 marked Sprint Nextel’s last year as sponsor, since the telecommunications company decided not to renew its contract. A new title sponsor is to be announced. Next: February 26, 2017
New York
#5 Sports Event (up from #6)
In 2016, Stan Wawrinka won in the men’s division, while Angelique Kerber triumphed in the women’s division. Around 700,000 fans attend the United States Tennis Association’s marquee event. ESPN and the Tennis Channel televise the event, which addressed past rain delays with a new retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, a new 8,000-seat Grandstand stadium, and an extensive renovation of the grounds of the U.S.T.A. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. New food offerings were designed to appeal to the tournament’s upscale crowd and included an oyster bar and dishes from chefs such as David Chang, Ken Oringer, and Jamie Bissonnette. Next: August 2017
Augusta, Georgia
#6 Sports Event
The P.G.A.’s most storied tournament, held at the Augusta National Golf Club, is a rarity of sporting events: It limits the number of major sponsors to five and prohibits blatant signage during the game. The event is equally discreet about the tournament’s attendance numbers, but some reports suggest that about 35,000 people are allowed into the club to watch the game, which this year marked the first Masters victory for Danny Willett. Mercedes-Benz, AT&T, and I.B.M. are the event’s global sponsors, while Rolex and UPS are international sponsors. Next: April 3-9, 2017
Boston
#8 Sports Event
The marathon, presented by the Boston Athletic Association, is the oldest and perhaps the most-admired marathon in the world, even more so after the event returned following the deadly bombing in 2013. The competition, which began in 1897, now has 30,000 contestants, and about 500,000 people line the marathon route to watch the race, which this year was won by Lemi Berhanu Hayle in the men’s division and Atsede Baysa in the women’s division. Next: April 17, 2017
New York
#9 Sports Event
For purebred dog enthusiasts, no U.S. event is more important than the show, the oldest and longest annual tenant of New York’s Madison Square Garden, where an estimated 18,000 people attend the show every year. In the event’s 140th edition in 2016, the coveted Best in Show prize went to a 3-year-old German short-haired male pointer named GCH Vjk-Myst Garbonita's California Journey, also known as CH. Two notable changes happened in 2016: The kennel club ended its broadcast relationship with the USA Network, which televised the show from 1984 through 2016, and signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports to air the show on Fox Sports 1 and sister network Nat Geo Wild. This year also marked the final year with David Frei as co-host. Next: February 13-14, 2017
