Generation Z consumers sports content differently. That’s an already known thing and a widely accepted fact. Generational differences between sports viewers or fans, though, have never been more profound and explicit than now. The Gen Z sports fans are miles away from the previous generations’ fans and this becomes quite evident in every possible way.
Demographics have traditionally been a key factor distinguishing the behaviours, lifestyles, preferences and attitudes of people. Sports consumption could not be an exception to that. But what we are witnessing now is a complete transformation of the typical, casual sports fan. Something which -in its most part – is owed to the generation itself.
Everyone in the sports industry acknowledges this shift. From sports organizations to sports broadcasters and from every sports media to top betting sites, bookmakers and exchange betting sites in India, all relevant agents have redefined their strategies and objectives and have adapted their offerings -whether this is content or services – to suit the preferences and wants of the younger sports fans.
The three most important patterns in Gen Z sports’ consumption
Let’s see the three basic patterns of behaviour of Gen Z fans when it comes to sports.
Watch sports ‘on the go’
The first and most profound aspect of sports consumption when it comes to Generation Z is that they are not so much into physically attending a sporting event. They prefer to watch it live, but from the convenience of their home or their whereabouts. Ideally, they want to be able to watch the event on their mobile so that they can do it ‘on the go’.
Gen Zers don’t want to waste time. Since they are ‘always connected’, they just want to watch a game and at the same time do other things as well or generally watch a game without this distracting them from their routine. Simple as that, Gen Z prefers watching sports simultaneously with doing other stuff.
Watch enriched sports’ content
Gen Z people have been born in the era of the internet and have been used to things like augmented reality, virtual context, graphics, real-time data and so on. For as much as this is concerned, they don’t like to watch sports without the visual aids or the enriched experience that the digital world adds to sports consumption.
So, getting the attention of Gen Z viewers becomes a matter of making the content as rich as possible with the digital aid. From sports analysis data display, to additional information and from augmented reality interventions to graphical representations, all these tools are no more delighters but prerequisites when we are talking about the Gen Z.
Enriched content helps Gen Zers get more immersed with the game that they are watching, which is all they are asking for at the end of the day!
Consume sports in social media
For the Gen Z what matters most is not watching a game, but being able to engage in some way with the game or with other people watching the same event. Enter social media. For this new generation of sports fans, sports’ consumption is much more fun and exciting, plus much more interesting when it is done through social media.
Younger people want interaction and continuous engagement, both of which are made possible in social networks and social media platforms. So, they prefer watching short videos of an entire event on social media and being able to discuss with other users aspects of a game or comment on the game than sitting and watching the whole event. Synchronized communication and real time exchange of views and opinions on the event are issues that are largely appreciated by the young generation of sports fans.
Well, Generation Z consumes sports in different ways than Millennials and Generation X. And most likely the next generation – Gen Alpha will show different kinds of preferences and wants when they get old enough. We are living in the era of fast changes in the digital world and this makes the differences much more profound and explicit!
