Over half of sports fans now consider streaming platforms to be their primary method for watching sports, according to marketing and tech company PMG’s 2025 State of Sports report from its insights division.
The report showed that 56% of the 1,200 participants (all 18 or older and U.S. residents, answering between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9) tuned into a sporting event at least once a week. Sixty-one percent said that their sports viewing encounters have increased due to streaming services’ capability to provide “greater accessibility and exclusive content.” Of Gen Z sports followers, 75% view shorter forms of sport content more often than entire games. Millennials and Gen X are more prone to tune into sports when they’re aired in real time.
PMG said projections indicated that U.S. digital sports viewership grew by 10.2% in 2024, reaching 105.28 million viewers. In 2018, it was 18.6 million, representing a 466% surge in six years, according to eMarketer. The report credits younger fans being drawn to advanced and fast-paced sports content over conventional broadcasting as a major factor in the growth.
