The Biggest Live-Sports Fans Are Still Watching TV, Even Without New Games

Live TV viewership is up substantially since audiences began sheltering in place, according to Nielsen

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It’s now been more than a month since almost all live sports were canceled, starting with the NBA, as a result of the novel coronavirus. The move left networks scrambling to deal with the upheaval of billions in TV ad revenue.

After all, brands spent almost $20 billion last year to advertise on sports-related TV programming, with close to $17 billion of that on sporting events, according to Nielsen Sports.

But while there are no more live sports, the genre’s most die-hard audiences haven’t abandoned television, according to new Nielsen data.

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