Sports fans are optimistic about the impact of technologies like AI on digital sports experiences.
Real-time updates and personalized content are top priorities for fans when it comes to how generative AI can improve engagement with sporting events.
Younger sports fans embrace AI-powered experiences and digital platforms to consume sports content and seek engagement
As sports fans around the world tune in to a slew of sporting events this semester, a new search commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM) reveals a growing generational shift and acceptance of experiences that, driven by technology, will affect the future of sports consumption.
Conducted by Morning Consult, the international study* brings together insights from more than 18,000 sports fans across 10 countries to better understand how they follow and engage with sports, including live coverage, highlights and recaps, as well as preferences for engagement and future consumption. The results confirm that fans are prioritizing more personalized and time-saving digital sports content, and the majority recognize the positive impact that technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) will have on these experiences.
The data also confirms that younger sports fans are more likely to favor AI-enhanced features as they increasingly turn to digital platforms to consume sports content. Fans surveyed, aged 18-29, are using a mobile phone or tablet as their primary device to follow sporting events more often than older fans, with subscription streaming of live sporting events being more popular among the younger age group. More than half (58%) of 18-29 respondents also believe AI will have a positive impact on sports.
Respondents from older age groups remain loyal to traditional consumption methods, with free-to-air broadcasting being more popular among 45+ fans. Among respondents aged 55+, 40% believe AI will have a positive impact on sports.
“Around the world, fans continue to embrace platforms and solutions that allow them to feel more connected and informed about their favorite sporting events and athletes, and IBM’s new study confirms that this includes adopting technologies like AI to deliver these experiences,” he said. Noah Syken, vice president of Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at IBM. “IBM’s long-standing portfolio of sports and entertainment partnerships aims to meet these fan expectations by putting IBM’s most advanced technologies from the Watsonx AI and data platform into the hands of our partners.”
Other key findings from the study include:
Fans are optimistic about the impact of technology on sports, paving the way for AI-powered experiences
>>> 63% of respondents point to data analytics as the most positive impact on sports, while 50% think AI will have a positive impact.
>>> When it comes to how generative AI can improve engagement, fans surveyed identify real-time updates (34%) and personalized content (29%) as top priorities.
>> India, UAE and Saudi Arabia are the countries where fans are prioritizing real-time updates and personalized content powered by generative AI.
Fans now prioritize personalized, bite-sized content when it comes to their sports content consumption.
>>> More than half (56%) of respondents turn to social media for additional sports content; 46% are receiving additional broadcast/video news content, while 35% are pivoting to news.
>>> 64% of fans who follow additional sports content are seeing highlight videos of the best moments; 48% are consuming replays and post-game analysis.
>>> Among those who engage with additional sports content, respondents rank short-form content (33%) as their top priority, followed by personalized content (26%).
>>> Sports fans are watching event summaries more frequently. Of these, 41% of respondents say they watch summaries or highlights weekly and 24% report daily engagement.
Younger fans could be reshaping how consumers experience sports content, as they engage with the subject matter across multiple screens and are more likely to favor AI-powered enhancements
>>> Younger fans (18-29) are more likely to view sports highlights through social media on other platforms.
>>> When it comes to consuming sports content, fans aged 18-29 are most likely to rate personalization as a top priority.
>>> Fans aged 18-29 are most likely to rate AI improvements as a high priority, with real-time updates (40%) and personalized content (36%).
>>> While real-time updates (26%) and personalized content (19%) are also high on the priority list for AI improvements, older fans (55+) are much less likely to consider AI improvements as a priority.
>>> Younger fans are also more likely to use multiple devices to follow sporting events than older fans (55+). 10% of younger respondents use three or more devices while watching sports, compared to just 2% of older fans.
Although TV is the most common method for watching sports, fans are increasingly using multiple devices to follow sporting events.
>>> 64% of respondents say broadcast TV or streaming is their top choice for watching sports.
>>> 31% of respondents say they are more likely to watch a live sporting event on a free-to-air broadcast;
>>> 28% say they use a subscription streaming service and 23% access free streaming.
>> Subscription streaming of live sporting events is most popular among younger fans aged 18-29.
>>> Mobile devices are a notable alternative for watching sports, with consumers pointing out 20% as the best way to watch sporting events and 38% saying it is the second most likely option.
>>> 28% of fans surveyed use at least two devices while watching sporting events; 24% report using at least two devices while listening to sports.
>> Fans between the ages of 18 and 44 are most likely to use three or more devices.
>>> Respondents rank multitasking as the top reason for using multiple devices when consuming sports, followed by finding more information about games while watching or listening to the sport.
To see the full study, visit this link.
*Study Methodology
This survey was conducted in May 2024 with a total sample of 18,082 18+ sports fans in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Interviews for each country were conducted online, and data is unweighted, with ~2,000 responses per market in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and India and ~1,000 responses per market in the UAE United States and Saudi Arabia. To qualify for this survey, respondents must be at least an average sports fan and follow one or more of the following sports: football, cricket, tennis, basketball, baseball, rugby, golf, American football, F1 racing, athletics, swimming and the Olympics.
