SponsorPulse shares insights on Gen Z’s sports engagement and viewership habits

The GIST: Following Monday’s story on how the “sport-curious” contingent among Gen Z consumers operates, sponsorship analysis platform SponsorPulse shared some of its own insightful data about how the Zoomer generation engages with sports and pop culture.

🏀 Gen Z’s favorite sports are men’s basketball and football. Pro basketball has repeatedly proven to be a generational fave, with SponsorPulse sharing that the NBA has the highest share of engagement from this demographic (58%), followed by college football (49%) and men’s March Madness (48%).

• However, women’s sports aren’t far behind. The USWNT’s valuable brand comes into play with the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the WNBA reaching 45% and 43% engagement, respectively.

🎮 Technology will power up Gen Z’s passion for sports. Zoomers expect their interest to increase the most in leagues like the NFL (32%) and the NBA (30%), but gaming properties like Call of Duty World League (22%) and esports (19%) aren’t far behind.

• Part of what keeps younger fans interested in the game is tech-supported experiences — think WNBA games streamed in VR or the league’s revamped app, which saw a 147% increase in active monthly users in 2023 after relaunch. Gen Z loves to play along.

📺 Gen Zers can’t resist the drama. They engage with Disney and NFL content most frequently on a weekly basis, but their love of reality TV falls close behind. Zoomers root for athletes with main character energy, and as the lines between athletes and entertainers become blurrier, brands can use cross-promotional appearances to their advantage, like Wicked’s timely collab.

• Other recent examples include Nike submitting the NWSL’s 2023 season for the Golden Globes’ “Best Drama” category after a Cinderella championship run by Gotham FC, or more classic crossovers like rugby and TikTok star Ilona Maher leveraging her post-Olympic glow into a Dancing With The Stars appearance. Tap dance, meet ankle tap.