WongDoody’s “The Fan Engagement Playbook” has revealed that TV remains the most popular method for Australians to consume their sport, with 68% watching sports on broadcast or cable TV. In this op-ed, James Noble, Chief Experience Officer at Wongdoody, unpacks the trends in how Aussies are viewing sport.
Broadcast TV has been the number 1-way Australians consume sport for decades, but are U.S. trends heading our way?
Not yet.
Our research found that TV remains the staple choice for Australian sports fans, with 68% watching on Broadcast or Cable TV compared to 46% on YouTube and 35% for over-the-top (OTT) streaming services like Kayo. This is nothing new.
The landscape in the U.S. has shifted dramatically, with traditional broadcast models facing mounting challenges. As regional sports networks struggle to maintain profitability, the appeal of digital platforms like YouTube continues to rise, where 70% of US sports fans watch, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the future of sports viewership.
In the media capital of the world, cultural trends tend to trickle down from the U.S. to the Australian consumer. The question is, will sports fan engagement here follow the same trajectory to YouTube that it has there?
The death of U.S. sports viewership on Broadcast TV
Expensive, inconvenient, and unimpressive. Broadcast TV in the U.S. is getting a bad rap. With regional sports network packages raising prices and having to compete with the “all-in-one” sports fan experience on YouTube, it’s no surprise that many are going under. In March of 2023, the leading operator of local sports in the U.S. filed for Chapter 1 bankruptcy. Diamond Sports Group, through Bally Sports, supported half of the teams in the MLB and several teams in the NBA and NHL. From the looks of it, this is only the beginning of financial troubles for the industry. But on YouTube, we’re seeing the opposite happen.
Is Australia heading in the same direction?
As far as Aussie sporting fans are concerned, no. The recent AFL Grand Final smashed previous viewership records and the NRL acquired a higher viewership than last year’s final. One reason Australian TV viewership has remained so high is accessibility, with additional subscription services fragmenting and requiring more investment every year. In June of this year, 98% of AFL fans surveyed by the AFL Fans Association wanted to keep sport on free-to-air TV. Watching sports without cost has become an Australian right and one that will not be easily toppled over. However, new proposed anti-siphoning laws hint that the Federal Government may not allow this trend to last forever, even for our largest sporting events.
What’s already been observed is the habits of younger generations, who are already less inclined to watch sports via Broadcast TV and are opting to consume content on phones and laptops, where YouTube is the easiest choice. With the rise of platforms like YouTube, the focus should not just be on content distribution but on creating immersive, interactive fan experiences through digital technologies. Augmented reality (AR), 360-degree video, and advanced analytics offer fans real-time, multi-angle perspectives that deepen engagement.
AI-powered fan engagement tools can customise user experiences by predicting what a fan might like based on previous interactions, further enhancing both engagement and revenue potential for sports organisations.
But based on our comprehensive study of 2,000 sports fans around the globe, Australian sports fans remain the least digitally engaged across the board. Aussies are consistently behind U.S., U.K., and Italian fans for device, social platform, and watching platform usage.
So, what makes the Australian audience different?
Social connection is key
The choice to continue watching sports on TV comes down to why Australians are watching sport in the first place.
Our research saw 52% of respondents across Australia, the U.S. and U.K. rated growing up with sports as a part of their family as their top reason for becoming interested in them. 65% of Australians noted they enjoy sports most when loved ones are involved.
This need for social connection is the same for both Aussie and U.S. sports fans.
In both countries, major sporting organisations have developed their biggest games as cultural traditions, such as the AFL on ANZAC Day and the NFL on Thanksgiving Day. In both cases, viewers are encouraged to hold ‘watch parties’ that gather larger groups in front of a TV screen. What threatens Broadcast and Cable is the climbing rate of YouTube sports viewing on connected big-screen TVs, which has never been higher. It means the traditional TV-watching experience isn’t a point of difference anymore. It’s a point of parity that even streaming services can now offer.
Passive viewership is over
Aussie fans may opt to make the switch from Broadcast to YouTube where it comes down to evolving possibilities for viewing experiences. Passionate fans are always going to appreciate new accessibility for their teams.
We’ve identified four emerging fan expectations that sporting organisations need to respond in order to compete:
- Personalised broadcast and streams: Viewers are able to access multiple camera angles, commentaries, and data visuals to customise their entertainment experience.
- Backstage access: Behind-the-scenes content is made available to fans through players’ and teams’ social channels and online communities like X or Reddit.
- Mobile passports: The sporting event experience is made seamless across mobile with live streams, real-time replays, biometrics, and navigation help.
- Data-driven immersions: Fans are given rich player and match data to help them better understand the dynamics of the game and to add another level of enjoyment through entertainment like fantasy sport and fan vs. athlete data.
What sports marketers need to know
Sports organisations must invest in data-driven insights, allowing them to anticipate evolving fan preferences and offer personalised experiences at scale. Embracing AI, predictive analytics, and real-time feedback systems will empower decision-makers to meet fan expectations and keep them engaged. Our ‘Fan Engagement Playbook’ introduces a 4-part framework for sporting organisations that want to create and keep loyal fans. The areas include Motivators (why fans engage), Behaviours (how fans engage), Channels (where fans engage), and Content (what fans consume).
This research and framework is a good reminder that sport is entertainment, and organisations should be maximising fan enjoyment. The importance of organisational buy-in around fan-centricity cannot be understated. It’s a fact that organisations which place fans at the heart of their operation to achieve better engagement and bottom-line outcomes.
Sports fans’ motivations are not solely based on entertainment but also on emotional and communal experiences. Successful engagement strategies should tap into this by fostering community-driven environments where fans can share their passion with others through social platforms, live streams, and interactive game features.
While Broadcast TV may have loyal Aussie fans, the days of passive viewership are over. Sporting organisations who know their fans intricately and adapt to new viewing expectations first will thrive.
