- Powered by fan loyalty towards star athletes and clubs, the global sports entertainment market is expected to grow to over $623 billion by 2027.
- Yet, exactly who will benefit from this fan loyalty is still up for grabs.
- Our research shows that sports fan media consumption is evolving, meaning clubs and other industry players must, too.
- That’s why, in this ultimate guide, we’re sharing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities of fostering fan loyalty in sports.
- Read on to learn more and discover scalable fan engagement activities that build long-term relationships.
The current state of fan loyalty in sports
- We conducted a UK-wide survey of 1,000 sports fans to understand the ‘why’ behind their favourite digital fan experiences, along with expert interviews with club leaders, athletes and other industry figures.
- Here’s a snapshot of some of the trends we uncovered:
Fracturing media landscape
- TV and radio still dominate as the main consumption channels, with 82% of sports fans watching live broadcasts.
- However, this is changing, as OTT services, online streaming sites and social media platforms are offering fans new and exciting ways to stay up to date on game highlights.
- What’s more, the average fan has up to three different sports-related apps on their smartphones, with 46% and 41% of fans interacting before and during the events, respectively.
- This mirrors wider trends in the entertainment industry, with UK households set to spend more on Netflix and similar streaming services than traditional TV packages by 2025.
- As a whole, it’s clear that fans’ preferred media channels are widening as they look for new avenues for news updates, community and entertainment.
Given this, clubs and their extended partnership network (venues, merchandise suppliers, fan engagement agency, etc.), must leverage these channels to maintain fan loyalty
Expanding coverage
- Our survey revealed that 75% of sports fans use multiple channels to get more fan engagement. Namely, connecting with peers and finding information.
- Given this, club leaders should expand both the volume of content on offer to fans and the breadth of topics covered.
- The former ensures your club and brand are visible within the new media frontiers that fans use. As a result, you can build fan engagement with highly interested supporters exploring new apps and platforms.
- Equally, the latter can help you capture niche fans interested in underrepresented areas of sport, like youth leagues, women’s teams, and so on.
- Most recently, the British Lionesses made massive gains in fan engagement, with publishers identifying the campaign as “a new era of women’s sport in the UK.”
- Unfortunately, viewing numbers and availability (i.e., the amount of venues showing women’s football games) significantly lags compared to men’s sports, suggesting a need for a wider industry shift.
- As identified by Adele Nicoll, “I think if female sport was viewed and appreciated for what it is – as elite women competing in their own categories – then it could be different, so clubs need to tap into that and highlight that inherent merit.”
Loyalty and membership:
- Our research also found that (56%) over half of fans consumed sports content daily during the in-season, with 80% of fans checking in weekly during the off-season. As such, there’s latent interest that could be capitalised on via year-long fan loyalty schemes and membership benefits.
- Clubs that introduce fan engagement activities should move towards rewarding their most committed and long-standing supporters, as well as offering regular and easily achievable rewards to build initial fan loyalty.
- From here, clubs can identify and scale revenue strategies through innovative fan engagement activities and revenue strategies.
- Similar research we’ve conducted on other consumer segments found that many find loyalty offerings too complicated, impersonal and low-value. As a result, club leaders need to focus on what truly delights their existing fan base as well as future newcomers.
