• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 21, 2022

In a report looking at changes in the way sports fans are consuming content, A Dentsu International unit and digital sports platform Overtime found that younger fans are less interested in watching sports games live on linear TV.

An online survey of 1,000 sports fans aged 18-54 (via Toluna) found that half of Gen Z sports fans are watching live games on linear TV only monthly or less often. Per the survey, fans in this age group are more likely to watch sports highlights on digital platforms than on linear TV.

Social media is increasingly used to follow sports games in real time. More than half of Gen Z and Millennial sports fans follow sports game activity on social media at least weekly, according to the report.

When they do watch live sports, Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to check social media during ad breaks versus watching ads. In addition, 1 in 5 mute the linear TV when ads come on.

Broken out by specific platforms, Instagram and TikTok are used most by GenZers for following sports while Millennials tend to gravitate towards Facebook, Twitter as well Instagram.

About 70% of both generations use YouTube to engage with sports content, according to the report.

A separate survey (fielded through Persky) focused on 1,000 NBA fans aged 13 to 34 during the playoffs in April and who had watched a game that day. Two-thirds of the respondents could not recall a single ad that aired during the game.

The full report can be found here in exchange for a little information about yourself.