The last two decades have seen massive growth in the sports industry all across the globe, but most especially in North America. It is estimated that the sports industry grew by 40% from 2010 to 2018 to a valuation of a little over $70B. However, according to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, the new wave of consumers from ‘Gen Z’ are almost twice as likely to never watch sports compared to millennials. More data indicates that Gen Z is about half as likely to watch sports regularly compared to Millennials.

Only 53% Of Gen Z Consider Themselves Sports Fans Compared To 69% Of Millennials

A survey of 1000 Gen Zers currently between the ages of 13 and 23 in August of 2020 indicated that Gen Zers are less likely to consider themselves as sports fans compared to the rest of the US general population. Only 53%of the Gen Zers considered themselves sports fans compared to 69% of millennials and 63% of US adults. When the survey is broken down by gender, the gap becomes even more significant. 75% of adult men identified as sports fans while only 58% of male Gen Zers surveyed identified as sports fans.

Decline In Interest  in Sports Reflected In Viewing Habits

50% of MIllennials and 42% of all adults surveyed indicated that they watched live sports at least once a week, while only 24% of Gen Zers indicated the same. Gen Zers are also twice as likely to never watch sports as millennials, with 39% of respondents indicating that they never watch sports compared to only 20% of millennials. Another survey also showed that Gen Zers were less likely to identify as fans of specific sports and sports leagues compared to the rest of the population. In 24 sports or competitions out of the 27 included in the survey, the general adult population were more likely to identify as sports fans in 24 of them.

The NBA and Esports are the only two competitions where Gen Zers had more fans than the general population while the interest level was the same for the UFC. Notably, both Esports and the UFC are relatively young in its history and are two of the fastest-growing sports in the world.