That record crowd was also the biggest ever for any BBL match in its five editions, and it only promises to get bigger in the days to come. The Melbourne derby certainly helped the cause as the BBL leapfrogged into the top 10 position, with an average attendance of 28,279.
The BBL was only the second cricket league to feature in the top 10 list, after the very famous Indian Premier League (IPL), which proudly stood in the 6th position. The biggest sporting league, however, was America’s National Football League more popularly known as the NFL, which saw an average crowd of 68,278 per match. In the 2015 season alone, the NFL saw over 17 million fans turn up to watch matches.
The German Bundesliga emerged as the biggest football league in the world, in the second position with a turnout of 43,331, beating the much-fancied English Premier League which stood in the fourth place with an average attendance of 36,464.
India’s very own Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament, after only two seasons, narrowly missed out on the top 10 position, with average numbers of 26,376 in the 2015 season. Spanish La Liga stood eight just above the BBL with average crowds of 28,498 so far.
Top 10 most watched sports leagues (average crowds, 2015/16 season)
National Football League (NFL): 68,278
German Bundesliga: 43,331
US College Football Division I FBL: 43,288
English Premier League: 36,464
Australian Football League: 33,428
Indian Premier League: 31,750 (2014 season)
Major League Baseball: 30,517
La Liga: 28,498
Big Bash League: 28,279
Nippon Professional Baseball: 28,248
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