Why the WBC Ranks Low in Surprise Generation-Based Engagement Rankings of Global Sports Tournaments
Part 1
The 2023 Basketball World Cup, where Japan achieved its first victory in a world tournament in 17 years
Basketball is surprisingly popular!
It refers to the men’s basketball World Cup match in August 2023, where Japan defeated Finland 98–88.
For true fans, it would naturally be a game that keeps them glued to the screen. It was Japan’s first victory in a world tournament in 17 years. Moreover, it was also the first win ever in a World Cup against a European national team.
The match took place in Okinawa, where Japan secured a historic victory backed by strong home support.
“This game attracted attention among MF1 (ages 20–34) and MF2 (ages 35–49), who have experience playing basketball in school clubs and were influenced by the hugely popular manga ‘SLAM DUNK.’ Basketball already has a strong core fan base. On top of that, Japan came from behind after being down through the third quarter to win. Basketball is a fast-paced sport, and combined with such a dramatic comeback, it likely kept many viewers glued to the television screen,” said Saori Yasutake of REVISIO (R Company), a TV viewing data analysis firm.
R Company independently analyzed which matches captured viewers’ attention during global sports tournaments such as the Olympics and the WBC held from January 2023 to the end of February this year, based on terrestrial broadcast programs.
It compiled rankings (top 15 and top 30) across three generations: MF1 (ages 20–34), MF2 (ages 35–49), and MF3 (ages 50 and above) (see “measurement method” for details. The lower number of soccer-related entries may be due to the absence of a World Cup during the survey period).
Volleyball is actually strong among young people
Yasutake continues:
“You might wonder why the WBC (5th edition), where Samurai Japan won the championship in 2023, hardly appears in the rankings. The WBC has an unusually high household TV on-rate (viewing rate) of around 30%. When more people are watching overall, the sample size of viewers is larger, which makes it harder for the engagement score to rise compared to smaller-scale events.
Even so, WBC games have an engagement level of around 60%, which is extremely high. Since many prime-time programs (7–10 p.m.) are in the 50% range, you can understand how high that still is even without ranking. In particular, the final against the United States is remarkable. The top three matches in another table are evening games that are easier to watch, but the final ranked 4th despite starting at 7 a.m., achieving over 63% engagement.”
Looking at MF1 (ages 20–34), as introduced earlier, the No. 1 spot was the 2023 Basketball World Cup.
The second-ranked match was also basketball, the men’s game “Japan vs France” at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a sport with a strong core fan base.
R Company marketing team manager Koki Mitsuhashi explains:
“France was ranked 9th in the world (at the time), compared to Japan at 26th, and was also the host nation. However, Japan managed to tie the game 84–84 at the end of the fourth quarter, putting up a great fight. Although they narrowly lost 90–94 in overtime, the fact that they came so close to a major upset over France is what drove the high engagement.”
Volleyball also stands out in MF1, with three entries including 3rd-ranked “Japan vs Thailand” at the 2025 Women’s World Championship and 10th-ranked “Japan vs Netherlands.” This is likely influenced by the hugely popular manga “Haikyuu!!,” which has been a major hit among younger generations, especially those familiar with high school volleyball.
The 2023 WBC final, which attracted attention even though it was broadcast from 7 a.m.
【Method for measuring “engagement level” in generation-based sports world tournament rankings】
The engagement level is an independently conducted metric by R Company that measures how long people in front of the television are actually looking at the screen. It is calculated based on the number of seconds viewers are actively watching the TV.
“Second-screen viewing,” such as watching while doing other tasks like cooking, is considered low engagement because the viewer is often not actually looking at the screen, so it does not increase the score.
The survey was conducted with the cooperation of about 2,000 households (approximately 4,800 people) in the Kanto region and about 600 households (approximately 1,500 people) in the Kansai region, to independently analyze which sports world tournaments viewers in each generation were most glued to.
While typical prime-time TV programs have engagement levels in the 50% range, popular sports tournaments exceed 70%, showing how high the attention level is.
The survey covers the period from January 2023 to the end of February this year. It targets sports tournaments broadcast on terrestrial television with a household TV on-rate (viewership rate) of 5% or higher and a total broadcast duration of at least 100 minutes.
From the April 10, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”
PHOTO： Afro