This report captures the many ways fans consume sport from attending, watching, betting on, playing fantasy sports to playing sports video games. In this report, Fan Engagement is divided into three core areas: Sports Events, Sports Entertainment and Sports Media. Each section provides in-depth analysis of conditions and factors that have impacted the financial performance of the segments comprising the core areas, an examination of the post COVID recovery of each, with projections of revenue growth over the next several years. Woven into the analysis area number of videos and exhibits highlighting new trends in each section of the report.

SPORTS EVENTS are at the heart of the business of sport. This section of the report focuses on the four-core revenue generating sources of live sports events: Gate Revenues, Media Rights, Sponsorships and Merchandise Sales. The annual revenues produced by each are analyzed over a 6-year period to assess post-COVID rates of recovery. Also featured is a section examining the new generation of “Billion $” sports venues loaded with features to enhance the fan experience, and the emerging prominence of arenas and stadiums as the centerpiece of a wave of new sports and entertainment districts (SEDs). 

SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT includes the many ways fan engage in sport through mostly virtual experiences, including betting on sports, viewing esports competitions, joining a fantasy sports league, playing sports video games, buying sports collectibles and rooting on the home team with friends at a local sports bar. In 2023, worldwide spending across all six of these core areas totaled $375 billion, with the U.S. accounting for $154 billion (41%) of the total. Several of these sport engagement options are among the most popular and fastest growing across all dimensions of sport. Leading the way is sports gambling. Betting on sports is the fastest growing segment in the U.S., followed closely by the sports collectibles market, projected to grow to $200 billion by 2032. The report examines the conditions and factors that that have influenced the growth of each of the six sport entertainment segments.

SPORTS MEDIA: In 2023, global spending on sports media reached $150.5 billion. The U.S. accounted for 44%, topping $67 billion. This section of the report examines changing sports media landscape, focusing on three interconnected factors: 1) the popularity of live sports events, 2) the massive loss of cable television subscribers and programming and 3) the rapid growth of the internet and emergence of new streaming technologies. By 2025, 73% of smartphone users globally are projected to access the internet exclusively on their phones. While a majority of Americans view all, or most, of live sports on traditional TV, most of the world – and a growing number of North Americans – watch sports exclusively online via streaming platforms, using a variety of digital devices. As more viewers have shifted from linear to internet options, prominent sports properties and corporations have recently invested billions to attract their share of the rising number online viewers to their streaming platforms. Disney’s ESPN, Amazon, Google and Paramount have purchased the rights to stream popular live sporting events (NFL, MLS, MLB) to attract numerous new subscribers and advertising dollars. These Direct-to-consumer platforms allow leagues and teams to reach new, younger audiences.