Sports audiences The Gen Z opportunity
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The 20,000 Foot View: Digital natives are more likely to consume non-live sports than older, traditional sports fans, which presents rights holders and broadcasters with untapped potential for monetisation by harnessing and actioning this insight. While the most valuable sports audience currently remains among pay-TV subscribers, planning for meaningful non-broadcast revenues through digital-native engagement is now crucial for pandemic mitigation, as well as addressing the needs of the underserved fans of the future.
Key Insights
- Teens are small but important segment, with olds accounting for of TV sports viewers in 2020
- Exclusively paywalling can restrict reach, with the exclusive broadcast deal with NBC addressing its ageing fan base
- The current for rights holders engaging with Z comes in the form highlights, with year olds over times more likely to consume on social media than year
- Teens also their sports fandom beyond viewing: year olds play fantasy sports, rights holders with a unique for reaching the younger fans the future
- Rights holders the NBA that experiment with prioritise digital engagement have secured and more evenly distributed fan
- Sports ranks in terms of TV genre for year olds, highlighting the of alienating this audience if holders continue choosing revenue over
- Understanding Gen entertainment preferences can help in preferred destinations for licensing content future proofing fan bases
Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Activision Blizzard, Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, Among Us, Animal Crossing, Apex Legends, Apple, Apple Music, Call of Duty, CBS, Chicago Bears, Disney, Disney+, EA Sports, ESPN, ESPN+, Facebook, Fall Guys, FIFA, Fortnite, GTA, Instagram, Madden NFL, Minecraft, MLB, NBA NBA, NBC, Netflix, New Orleans Saints, NHL, Nickelodeon, Roblox, Rocket League, Snapchat, Spotify, Take Two Interactive, TikTok, Twitch, Verizon, Washington Post, WWE, Yahoo!, YouTube