Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – Los Angeles Dodgers designated batsman shoe hei ohtani (17) celebrates as he approaches the home plate after winning the game.
Robert Gautier | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
According to a Nielsen report, Asian Americans are now making up for their share of live sports audiences more than ever before.
Asian Americans, Indigenous Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, or AANHPIs spend 15% more time watching live sports than the general public, Nielsen reported Wednesday.
In general, live sports attract the largest audience on both traditional television and streaming platforms. As more consumers move to streaming, Pay TV bundles are decreasing. Now, more sports content is available on streamers than ever before.
As a result, advertisers spend more and more on live sports than other content on television and streaming platforms. Nielsen’s report shows that the rise in Asian American consumption across various forms of media is a signal for advertisers and marketers that this is a key demographic to deal with.
“As digital media and commerce evolve, Asian American consumers are leading the rates and embracing an interactive, shopping experience at a higher rate than the general population,” said Stacie de Armas, senior vice president of Diverse Insights & Intelligence at Nielsen. “Aware of the importance of cultural connections in digital strategy, marketers will develop stronger relationships with this influential, engaging audience.”
Generally, AANHPI consumers are more digitally connected, Nielsen said they spend almost an hour or more than all US adults as they are cut down on computers for an average of nine and six minutes a week.
Since January, streaming has accounted for 53% of Asian Americans’ total television time, up 45% from last year. 20% of its viewers are on YouTube.
According to Nielsen, these audiences sometimes “index the US excessively” when time is spent on Netflix and Amazon.”
According to a Nielsen report, AANHPI audiences are 33% more likely to subscribe to sports-specific streaming platforms. It’s like a major streaming platform Amazon‘ Prime Video, Netflix Others added sports to their roster, some services, DisneyLocal sports network ESPN+ and consumer counterparts are also offered.
In particular, Nielsen said that Asian American viewers surged 146% in the 2024 World Series. Dodgers star Shohai Otani has caught some of the biggest audiences of baseball in both the US, his home country and Japan.
The interest in AANHPI audiences in women’s basketball is also rising. Demographic viewers for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship rose nearly 70% year-on-year, while the WNBA Draft rose 240%. Nielsen pointed out that Natalie Nakaze will become the WNBA’s first Asian American head coach this year, with players like Te Hina Paopao driving the audience’s interest.
Sports podcasts are also becoming more popular with Asian American audiences, with listenership increasing by 28% between 2022 and 2024.
