The divisive U.S. presidential election captured more attention than any other topic, and included one five of the top fifteen events of the year.

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The list of the top 50 most-viewed sporting events of 2012 from the first half of the year (in other words, before the Olympics) includes healthy helpings of football, basketball, golf and NASCAR.

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Last year, Sprint Cup Series events ranked among the top two sports of the weekend on television 20 out of 36 points event weekends, with an average of 4.1 million households and 5.8 million viewers tuned into each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

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