Report Summary and Methodology
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Playing and watching sports has long been a source of entertainment, creating opportunities for people to bond and connect with friends and family. From fanatics to casual viewers, fans are engaging from the stands and from the couch.
As the ways fans engage continue to shift, audiences around the world are finding new ways to watch and follow their favourite teams. This report explores how global consumers attend events, consume content, purchase tickets, and make decisions.
Using responses from more than 8,250 online respondents from Kantar Profiles’ Respondent Hub across 11 global markets (including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, and the US), this study sets out to explore how global consumers are watching and attending sports events, their motivators and the role brands play in the fan experience.
This research was conducted online with more than 8,250 respondents sourced from Kantar Profiles’ Respondent Hub across 11 global markets: Australia (751), Brazil (751), China (750), France (751), Germany (750), India (750), Japan (751), Saudi Arabia (752), Singapore (751), UK (751), and the US (751).
All interviews were conducted as online self-completion between 3 March and 10 March 2026 and collected based on local census age and gender distributions by country.
Gen Z was identified as ages 18-28, Millennials ages 29-44, Gen X ages 45-60, and Boomers/Silent Generation ages 61-84.
“Sports Watchers” were defined as respondents who watch sports on television or streaming during a typical sports season.
“Sports Attenders” were categorised as those who attend live sports events in person regularly, occasionally or rarely during a typical sports season.
To understand the behaviours and motivators for different levels of sports fandom, respondents were scored across multiple survey measures including sports attendance, viewing intensity, ticketing behaviour, and attitudinal engagement. These scores were combined to assign each respondent to a Fanatic, Enthusiast, or Casual segment based on their highest level of demonstrated sports involvement.
Sports Fanatics – These are the biggest sports fans who are regularly watching sports in a variety of ways, paying more to make sure they don’t miss a game. They are regularly attending in-person, play or participate in sports, purchase event tickets, season ticket holders, watch at least several times per week, pay for a sports TV subscription and/or agree with statements like, “a big win or loss affects my mood,” or “my favourite team is part of my identity.”
Sports Enthusiasts – These are engaged fans, however, sports are not their top priority. They attend in-person occasionally, watch sports on a weekly to monthly basis, play or participate in some sports, go with a friend or family member to sports events, but don’t purchase themselves, and watch sports through their regular TV package.
Casual Fans – These fans reserve their time for big events and like to watch with friends. They attend in-person rarely, and often use a free ticket. They play some sports themselves, and watch sports less than monthly, and typically watch while out at bars or pubs with friends and family.
