TV audience grew 78.5 percent over 2025 marking one of the fastest growth stories in sports media
BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Thirty years after redefining action sports, X Games has done it again.
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League transformed one of the world’s most iconic sports properties from standalone events into a season-long global tour built around clubs, rivalries, standings and a championship. The result marked a strong start to a new era for X Games and the future of action sports.
The 2026 XGL Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5 percent increase compared to the 2025 Summer Season. Additionally, the league welcomed more than 100,000 live fans across Sacramento, Chiba (Japan), and New Orleans, and introduced millions of new viewers to action sports while building a loyal audience that followed the season from start to finish.
The new league attracted 7.5 million of its most avid fans tuning into multiple stops of the summer season, validating the appetite for the X Games League with a simple belief: fans don’t just follow events, they follow stories.
“Our goal with the MoonPay X Games League is to return action sports to the biggest stage and give fans a reason to come back throughout the season. This summer, more than 18 million people found X Games on TV, and our biggest audience came at the championship. We have a long way to go, but those are encouraging signals that we’re building something fans want to follow, not just watch,” said Jeremy Bloom, CEO of X Games.
The season concluded with one of the most dramatic finishes in X Games history. On the final run of the final event, XC New York captured the inaugural X Games League Championship, edging XC Tokyo by just 10 points to claim the first-ever League title.
Fifteen-year-old female skateboard phenom Mizuho Hasegawa of XC Tokyo was named the inaugural X Games League MVP after an extraordinary season that included eight medals, cementing her place as one of the brightest young stars in global action sports.
“It was exciting to see the league and club concept come to life this summer,” said Tim Reed, Vice President, ESPN Programming and Acquisitions. “The season created compelling storylines and intensified rivalries, building momentum all the way to the inaugural X Games League Championship in New Orleans.”
“The audience X Games built this summer is the audience every brand says it wants and almost none can actually reach,” said Keith A. Grossman, President of MoonPay. “We didn’t sponsor an event. We helped launch a league, and we’re just getting started.”
The New Orleans Championship became the highest-rated stop of the summer, demonstrating the power of season-long competitive stakes. Across the tour, ABC broadcast windows consistently delivered the strongest audiences, while the league expanded X Games’ television reach to levels never before achieved.
“When UNA acquired XC New York we envisioned a future where action sports would continue to create community and captivate the audience for a whole season instead of just a weekend,” said Andrew Thau, co-founder of UNA Sports Group and Governor of XC New York. “Eighteen million people and a title decided on the last run is the proof.”
Beyond television, the Summer League generated hundreds of millions of earned media impressions, over 200 million social video views, more than 75 hours of live streaming, and unprecedented global conversation surrounding the launch of the new format.
MoonPay X Games League By The Numbers
- 18.3 million unique television viewers across three stops, a 78.5 percent increase over the 2025 Summer Season.
- 100,000+ fans attended events across Sacramento, Chiba and New Orleans.
- 7.5 million fans followed multiple tour stops, demonstrating avid engagement.
- New Orleans delivered the highest-rated event of the summer.
- XC New York captured the inaugural X Games League Championship.
- 15-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa became the first-ever X Games League MVP.
The season’s television reach outperformed the full-season reach of leading action sports properties and exceeded the tournament reach of several of the world’s most recognizable summer sporting events.
The success of the inaugural Summer League marks the beginning of a new chapter for X Games, with continued international expansion, additional club ownership opportunities, and the launch of the inaugural Winter League season.
“This isn’t a victory lap,” Bloom added. “We’re still early. We proved the model works. Now we get to make it better.”
About X Games
X Games is the leading action sports brand globally, showcasing the world’s best athletes across skateboarding, BMX, skiing, snowboarding, and Moto X. Through world-class competitions, innovative media, and immersive fan experiences, X Games reaches millions of fans annually across broadcast, streaming, digital, and live events worldwide.
For more information, visit xgames.com or follow X Games on TikTok, X, Instagram, or Facebook.
About MoonPay X Games League (XGL)
Launched in 2026, the MoonPay X Games League (XGL) brings an exciting new extension to the iconic X Games brand as the world’s first year-round, team-based, co-ed league in action sports. The league features eight Clubs (four winter X Games Clubs and four summer X Games Clubs) that fuse geographic identity with global athletic talent as they compete.
For the first time in X Games history, athletes compete in a structured season and team-based format, allowing for season-long storylines and deeper athlete-fan engagement across broadcast, streaming, live events, and digital platforms. This represents a fundamental shift in the world of action sports as XGL aims to build stronger global presence and regional connections for athletes, teams, fans, and sponsors. The formation of XGL greatly expands compensation opportunities for athletes beyond existing prize purses, with additional earning potential as part of the league’s team model.
To learn more, visit xgames.com/xgl or follow X Games on Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
About MSP Sports Capital
X Games is a portfolio company of MSP Sports Capital, a global private equity firm that invests in teams, leagues, and other businesses in the sports ecosystem. The firm pursues influential positions in mature sports companies and focuses on creating value and driving differentiated returns. MSP Sports Capital was founded by veteran investor-operators, Jeff Moorad and Jahm Najafi, whose expertise span the world’s largest sports leagues, including MLB, NBA, NFL, F1, and European football.
For more information, please visit mspsportscapital.com.
X Games Media Contact:
media@xgames.com
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SOURCE X Games
