Poll: NFL beats baseball again as America's most popular sport

The NFL is once again the most popular sport in America, a poll of 2,331 adults by Harris Interactive has revealed.

For at least the ninth consecutive year of such polling, pro football emerged as the favorite sport among those polled.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said that pro football was their favorite sport, with baseball checking in at 17%.

That represents a narrowing of the gap between the two sports. Last year, football held an advantage of 19 percentage points when it garnered 35% of respondents' votes compared to baseball's 16%.

Still, support for football has grown and for baseball has retreated since Harris first posed this poll in 1985. Then, 24% of respondents listed football as their favorite and 23% said baseball.

The NFL has seen sky-high TV ratings this season to go along with its status as America's most-popular sport.

An average of 17.9 million viewers watched each game during the regular season. That was the highest since 1989.
Hat tip: SportsBusiness Daily