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recent survey from Safe Betting Sites has found Gen Z is half as likely to watch sports regularly compared to millennials in the US and are almost twice as likely to never watch sports.
The survey of 1,000 Gen Z’s between the ages of 13 and 23 showed 39% of Gen Z never watch sports, compared to 20% of millennials, and only 53% consider themselves sports fans compared to 69% of millennials and 63% of other adults.
When asked if they watched live sports at least once a week, 24% of Gen Z participants said yes, compared to 50% of millennials and 42% of all adults.
The survey also examined specific sports or competitions in the US, with the general adult population more likely to identify as sports fans in 24 out of the 27 included in the survey.
The Gen Z population surveyed were more likely to be fans of the NBA, Esports, and the interest level was even for the UFC between Gen Z and the general adult population.
The inclusion of Esports in the list is likely unsurprising to industry experts, as the professional gaming genre recorded 35% of Gen Z respondents as fans, compared to just 19% of the general adult population.
The numbers for the NBA were similar for both Gen Z and the general population, with 47% of Gen Z indicated as fans, compared to 45% of the general population, while the NFL recorded the highest number of fans in both groups, with 59% of the general population, and 49% of the Gen Z population identifying as fans.
Meanwhile, the NFL, over the weekend, looked to take the opportunity to attract a younger audience base to the sport through a broadcast partnership with Nickelodeon, which saw a playoff game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints broadcast simultaneously on CBS and Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon broadcast aimed to attract young viewers to the sport with virtual slime cannons appearing onscreen when teams scored touchdowns, player stat cards featuring referencing to popular Nickelodeon shows, and special appearances from SpongeBob SquarePants during field goal attempts.
The Wrap reported the NFL playoff game saw Nickelodeon record its highest ratings in “nearly four years” with over two million viewers, combining with CBS’s 28 million views to rank as the most-watched NFL game of the weekend.
It has been reported the broadcast was a plan to introduce and explain the game of American Football to children who might not otherwise watch, with the commentary team explaining the rules where possible with child-friendly terminology and making a conscious effort to not use technical terms.
