The entertainment industry is changing: over 40% of young fans are willing to pay for broadcasts, while leagues, agencies and bookmakers are investing in artificial intelligence that allows them to create content for fans faster and cheaper.
What fans want
Traditional ways of interacting with fans are effectively no longer working and need to change, while sports venues need to go beyond the usual online sales. This is according to a study of the global sports industry conducted by PwC in 2024.
Analysts at the international consulting firm say that changing fan behaviour for the second year in a row is one of the main trends affecting the industry. According to German analysts at IRIS Sport, young audiences increasingly prefer to watch sports broadcasts on online platforms rather than on TV.
In the 16-24 age group, 48% of the audience does so weekly (compared to 51% who watch on television), while 46% of viewers aged 55-64 do not use the internet at all when watching matches.
At the same time, IRIS data shows that young people are more willing to pay for sports content. This is agreed by 43% of fans aged 16-24 and 41% of viewers aged 25-34 — almost twice as many respondents as in the older age group. ‘The number of paid subscriptions is likely to increase among young audiences, reflecting the growing fragmentation of the media space in relation to popular sports content,’ according to the PwC study.
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Analysts are calling on sports brands to be more active in collecting fan data, arguing that this will help build personalised marketing in the future and bring industry participants ‘four to seven times more revenue.’
In turn, the sports industry — leagues, agencies and bookmakers — is increasingly investing in digitalisation, including artificial intelligence (AI). The PwC study presents the results of a survey of industry participants who claim that sports media and technology companies will benefit most from the introduction of generative AI (such as ChatGPT), as it will enable them to create content faster and cheaper.
Thus, 38% of respondents mentioned content creation and distribution as the most important example of the use of generative AI. Another 23% of industry participants believe that the technology will enable ‘performance optimisation’ in the industry, while 18% believe it will contribute to additional fan engagement.
For fans, the use of generative AI will provide improved service at stadiums and highly personalised content, allowing them to manage purchases ‘across all parameters, from ticket packages to more relevant personalised offers,’ according to PwC. “AI, including generative AI, as well as a new generation of machine learning tools for understanding and managing content, is revolutionising how rights holders can scale powerful and direct connections with fans.
This, in turn, can greatly benefit sponsors and broadcast partners and generate additional revenue,” says Daniel Kirschner, CEO of technology company Greenfly.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
