The future of Sport: Nielsen’s 2025 report reveals growth drivers

超过三分之一的全球足球迷认为品牌赞助很有吸引力，41% 的体育赞助都与足球有关。

The FIFA World Cup 2026^TM will open up opportunities to break through with fans, particularly the U.S. fanbase, where 62% expect interest to grow.

女子体育发展迅速，WNBA 的粉丝数量在短短两年内增长了 31% 以上。

New York  – June 12, 2025 – Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, today released its 2025 年全球体育报告. The report examines the evolving sports landscape, helping brands and rights holders better understand today’s fans as the world of sports explodes. 

报告中揭示的一些主要亮点包括

• 狂热的足球（橄榄球）爱好者非常乐于接受赞助--超过三分之一（67%）的全球球迷认为赞助品牌更有吸引力，而普通人群中这一比例仅略高于一半（54%）。
• 这种情况在美国最为普遍，美国的足球迷对品牌赞助的接受程度明显高于该国的普通体育迷，仅次于巴西，而巴西是全球最主要的体育市场之一。
• 随着 2025 年、2026 年和 2027 年大型赛事（包括在北美举办的国际足联 2026™ 世界杯）的举办，美国市场将在年轻、多样化和富裕的球迷群体（76% 为千禧一代或 Z 世代，22% 为西班牙裔，34% 的家庭收入在 10 万美元以上）的推动下实现大幅增长，他们渴望与赞助商合作消费。
• Interest in women’s sports is growing – reaching 50% of the general population globally in 2024, up from 45% in 2022

Today’s sports fans are more connected and passionate than ever. Globalization, diverse fandoms, and evolving media consumption are reshaping sports engagement. The report identifies three growth factors, empowering marketers to optimize sponsorship strategies and unlock global sports potential.

Jon Stainer, Global General Manager, Nielsen Sports, said: “The global sports industry is experiencing an exhilarating evolution, as live sports continue to grow and extend into all parts of media. At Nielsen, we are uniquely positioned to deliver the most important insights for broadcasters, brands, and organizations interested in connecting with fans. The data in our 2025 Global Sports Report illuminates precisely the opportunities that exist for these partners as the worldwide appeal of live sport, especially with major, worldwide sporting events on the horizon, gains even more momentum.”

Firstly, the report identifies that football, as the world’s most popular sport, presents a compelling opportunity to deepen engagement and drive ROI. With 51% global fandom, football significantly outpaces all other sports with notable regional variations — including Mexico at 64% fandom and a substantial 62 million fans in the U.S. alone, making it the fourth largest market globally. But getting brand sponsorship right depends on understanding the nuances of fans in target markets so as to capitalize on this passionate and engaged fanbase. 

Second, the significant surge in interest in women’s sports presents unparalleled opportunities for strategic brand investment and engagement, with particularly strong growth in major markets like India, China, the UK, and Germany. This growth is mirrored by specific sport expansions, notably women’s football and the WNBA, which has seen its U.S. fanbase grow over 31% in two years to 46.9 million, alongside a remarkable 201% increase in 2024 regular season viewership. 

Critically, women now form a larger share of fans for both women’s (47%) and men’s (42%) sports (up from 45% and 40% in 2022). This creates new, diverse, and highly engaged audiences demanding tailored approaches and brand opportunities. This expanding, receptive female fanbase underscores that supporting women’s sports is not merely a social gesture but a compelling business imperative, offering brands access to new consumer segments—as evidenced by luxury brands like Coach entering the WNBA sponsorship space, leveraging high purchase intent among women’s sports fans.

第三，快速发展的体育媒体格局为品牌、广告商、版权持有者和营销人员提供了大量机会，使他们能够通过传统和数字平台吸引不同的受众。直播体育仍然是粉丝参与的强大驱动力，流媒体吸引了越来越多的老年粉丝（2022-2024 年间 50 岁以上观众增加了 21%），而 TGL 高尔夫联赛等创新形式则成功地将年轻的非传统观众（TGL 18-34 岁观众中有 32% 不是 PGA 的固定观众）吸引到线性频道。 

Concurrently, social media is proving instrumental in globalizing sports and cultivating new fan bases. This is exemplified by the rapid rise of rugby fandom in new markets, driven by influential athletes like Ilona Maher—who grew her Instagram following by 141% during last year’s Olympic Games—and the accelerated growth of women following rugby globally. This dynamic environment, coupled with the emergence of new sports like pickleball and successful social-first brand activations (e.g., Nature Made®’s #ProPickle campaign), underscores the critical need for brands to strategically leverage diversified media and authentic social engagement to reach expanding fan demographics.

关于尼尔森

Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences—now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, 在 Facebook 上 和 Instagram).

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