SPORTS
IN AMERICA:
What we play, what we
watch, what we agree on –
and what we don’t
An Ipsos Point of View
Authors: Mallory Newall, Sarah Feldman, Bernard Mendez
KEY FINDINGS: Sports make up an enormous part of the
American psyche. Watching and playing
1. Cornhole and bowling are the sports sports bonds us with family and friends and
most Americans played last year— helps our health and bodies. Outside of just
pickleball less so. being important for communities and our
health, the sports industry is both a lucrative
2. Football, not baseball,
business and cultural flashpoint.
is America’s pastime.
From how Americans are staying active
3. Live TV is the runaway favorite for to how they watch and cheer for their
games, even as a plurality of younger favorite sports teams to the hot topics
Americans are streaming sports. in the sports and political worlds, new Ipsos
research explores what sports and sports
4. Americans are concerned fandom looks like in America today and
about players’ safety. how controversies in sports can reflect a
5. Americans—particularly Black broader political and social divide in
American society.
Americans—support allowing college
athletes to profit off their name, image, Policymakers invested in getting more
and likeness (known widely as NIL). Americans active and executives interested
in advertising, communicating, or building
6. Partisan differences exist, even in business in any sector touching the world
the “great equalizer” of sports. of sports need to understand that while
these are fun and games, many critical
differences exist in the public that may be
the difference between success and failure.
2
Cornhole and bowling are the sports most Americans played
last year—pickleball less so
Policymakers and business leaders trying to get more Americans active may need to consider what Americans
already do, and how education and income impacts Americans’ access to sports.
The two most-played sports among Americans in 2022 were leisurely games, like cornhole and bowling,
followed by individual sports people use to stay active, like swimming or cycling.
That so-called pickleball craze? It may not have been so crazy after all, with only 4% of Americans reporting
that they played the sport last year. But the reported tensions between tennis players and pickleball players
may not have been so exaggerated—pickleball nearly overtook tennis (which was played by 5% of Americans
in 2022) in terms of popularity over the last year. Pickleball, much like cornhole and bowling, is a group
game that is active, but not as strenuous as other sports—perhaps a key to the game’s early success.
Overall, around half of all Americans played some form of sport in 2022, but income and education factor
heavily into whether someone has played a sport in the past year.
But, importantly, Americans with more education and higher income are more likely to have played sports
in the past year compared to Americans with lower education or income. Black Americans are also less likely
than other demographics to have played any sports in the last year.
Americans with lower education and lower income
less likely to have played sports in 2022
Percent of respondents that played any type of sport in 2022
60% 58%
49% 50% 50% 46%
37% 39%
31%
Bachelor’s Some High school >$100k $50k–$99k <$50k White Hispanic Black
or higher college or lower
Source: Ipsos January 13 –15, 2023, among 1,035 U.S. adults
Executives and policymakers looking to bridge this gap in activity can look no further than youth leagues to
understand why these disparities exist and where they come from. There are similar accessibility problems
with youth sports. The issues at play there, namely cost and access to safe spaces, may also be at work here
too, though more research needs to be done to understand how and why these differences exist.
3 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
Football, not baseball, is America’s pastime
Who is a fan and how engaged they are hold huge implications for businesses advertising and selling the
love of the game.
The good news is that most Americans—two in three—are fans of at least one sport, but age plays an
important role in what sports they root for and follow. A 25-year-old and 65-year-old sports fan express their
fandom in different ways and tend to have different preferences in the sports they follow.
One thing is true—football, by far, has a strong foothold with Americans of all ages. Specifically, just under
half of Americans describe themselves as fans of the NFL—13 percentage points ahead of the second-most-
popular sport—while just under a third consider themselves fans of college football.
Football is sports fans’ favorite, even as younger Americans
are interested in soccer and pro basketball
Percent that describes themselves as the fans of the following sports, by age group
Total Ages 18 – 34 Ages 35 – 54 Ages 55+
NFL 44% 35% 46% 49%
Baseball 31% 23% 31% 38%
NCAAF 29% 22% 30% 35%
NBA 24% 23% 26% 22%
NCAAB 23% 20% 24% 25%
Hockey 18% 14% 21% 18%
Soccer 17% 16% 20% 15%
Motor racing 13% 9% 13% 15%
Boxing 12% 11% 15% 11%
Tennis 12% 6% 13% 16%
Golf 11% 5% 9% 17%
MMA 10% 13% 14% 6%
Pickleball 4% 2% 3% 6%
Source: Ipsos January 13 –15, 2023, among 1,035 U.S. adults
While people of all ages watch the NFL, disparate viewership trends by age show a potentially troubling
future for some sports and promising futures for others, important trends for executives to watch. Younger
Americans, under age 35, tend to be more divided in the sports they are fans of, with interest spread primarily
between basketball and soccer, while older Americans are more interested in sports like golf and tennis.
America’s pastime, baseball, may be seeing its grasp over Americans loosen, as its fan base is older.
4 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
Live TV is the runaway favorite for games, even as a plurality of
younger Americans are streaming sports
Sports channels are buoying cable from a wave of cord-cutting that presents real challenges to portions of
the media world. Ipsos data shows that some of those cord-cutting worries can be put to rest when it comes
to sports viewership—but not all of them.
Most Americans watch sports and major sporting events on live television. Fewer watch sports and major
sporting events via streaming. While watching live TV is nearly ubiquitous among older respondents, pluralities
of Americans under 35 are more likely to have streamed sports and major sporting events like the Super
Bowl or the World Cup, pointing to a worrying sign for cable networks. Reaching the next generation of fans
means understanding that not everyone will be on live TV.
Most Americans watch sports on TV, but younger Americans
are more likely to turn to streaming services
You previously indicated that you watched an entire game/match for the following sports/leagues
in the past year. How did you watch an entire game for each sport/league last year?
Ages 18 – 34 Ages 35 – 54 Ages 55+
Streaming platforms Live TV
91% 89% 90% 90%
83%
74% 74% 75%
71%
67%
55% 56%
39% 39% 39% 40%
31%
26%
21% 23%
10% 11%
7%
4%
NFL NCAAF MLB NBA NFL NCAAF MLB NBA
Source: Ipsos January 13 –15. Base sizes: NFL n = 486, NCAAF n = 339, MLB n = 300, NBA n =189
5 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
Americans are concerned about players’ safety
Coming off of a football season filled with concerns about player safety, how do executives manage
communication risks and costs associated with medical emergencies and respectfully participate in the
conversation? By understanding that the data shows that most Americans—including sports fans and
sports bettors—don’t want to see professional athletes’ wellbeing come at the expense of entertainment,
though how to handle medical emergencies divides Americans by race and political affiliation.
Player safety is overwhelmingly the most pressing issue in the world of sports for Americans. But, even after
the cancellation of an NFL game following the in-game collapse of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, a bare
majority of Americans still think games should go on after an emergency. Fewer Americans think a game
should be completely stopped when a medical emergency occurs rather than think games should resume
once the field is cleared, though significant differences by race and partisanship exist.
Americans divided on how to handle in-game medical emergencies
For each of the following pairs of statements, please select the one that
comes closest to your view, even if neither statement is exactly right.
Live sports games should be canceled when medical emergencies occur
Live sports games should continue when medical emergencies occur,
once the field is clear and the athlete has been taken care of
Total 44% 52%
White 41% 55%
Black 57% 35%
Hispanic 51% 48%
Democrat 58% 40%
Republican 33% 64%
Independent 37% 60%
Source: Ipsos January 13 –15, 2023, among 1,035 U.S. adults
6 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
Americans—particularly Black Americans—support allowing
college athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL)
As executives interact and potentially promote student-athletes in their newfound stake in business,
it’s important to understand how Americans feel about this changing landscape. College athletes were
traditionally forbidden from accepting any form of payment if they wanted to retain NCAA eligibility—
until 2021, when college athletes gained the right to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in a
reversal of longstanding tradition.
Nearly two years after these rule changes were made, over half of all Americans support NIL rights for
college student-athletes and believe it has a positive impact on college sports by allowing student athletes
to be fairly compensated.
Out of all demographic groups, however, Black Americans are the most likely to support college athletes
profiting off their NIL. This is particularly notable because Black Americans make up a disproportionately
large share of student athletes at major Division I football and basketball programs, setting them up to
potentially be the demographic that benefits the most from these rule changes.
Black Americans, highly represented in major college football and
basketball programs, overwhelmingly support NIL rights
Percent that thinks NIL rights have a positive Percent of student athletes
impact on college athletics by ensuring student in Division I football programs,
athletes are fairly compensated by race (2022)
16%
Another
race
48%
80% Black
62% 36%
52% White
White Hispanic Black
Americans Americans Americans
Source: (Left) Ipsos January 13 –15, 2023, among 1,035 U.S. adults (Right) NCAA
7 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
Partisan differences exist, even in the “great equalizer” of sports
Gender in sports has become a firebrand issue in the world of sports, from state-level bans on transgender
kids playing youth sports to questions around gender pay equity and coverage. As business leaders
navigate the polarized and fraught political landscape embedded in these issues, know that some of the
most salient partisan issues of the day get fought out in the cultural arena of sports. Notably, gender in
sports acts as this fault line between Republicans and Democrats.
For example, while four in ten Americans want to see more coverage of women’s sports, Democrats are
nearly two times more likely to want more coverage of women’s sports than Republicans. Likewise, while
a decisive majority of Democrats think female athletes should be paid as much as male athletes, only a
plurality of Republicans thinks the same.
Desire to see more women’s sports coverage and opinions on
gender pay equity in sports divided along party lines
I would like to see more Female athletes should be paid the same
coverage of women’s sports as male athletes in professional sports
% agree % agree
73%
54%
47%
26%
Republicans Democrats Republicans Democrats
Source: Ipsos January 13 –15, 2023, among 1,035 U.S. adults
Other Ipsos polling with NPR found that very few Republicans (4%) support allowing transgender women
and girls to compete on women’s and girls’ youth sports teams, while 46% of Democrats agree.
But, some sports still have the ability to act as a unifying force. Nearly equal shares of Republicans and
Democrats are fans of the NFL, baseball, hockey, soccer, and college basketball, promising the opportunity
to share cultural moments and memories together during a time when Americans are increasingly sorted
into political bubbles.
8 IPSOS | SPORTS IN AMERICA: WHAT WE PLAY, WHAT WE WATCH, WHAT WE AGREE ON—AND WHAT WE DON’T
TAKEAWAYS FOR HOW Authors:
AMERICANS PLAY AND Mallory Newall
FOLLOW SPORT: Vice President
Mallory.Newall@Ipsos.com
1. Policymakers and business leaders
Sarah Feldman
aiming to get Americans more active
Senior Data Journalist
should consider the sports Americans are Sarah.Feldman@Ipsos.com
most willing to play, and how education
Bernard Mendez
and income influence Americans’ ability to
Data Journalist
access these sports. Bernard.Mendez@Ipsos.com
2. Business leaders plugged into the world
of sports need to pay attention to the way About Ipsos
fandom in the U.S. differs by generation. At Ipsos we are passionately curious
Older Americans have different preferences about people, markets, brands, and
from younger generations both in terms society. We deliver information and
of favorite sports and viewing habits. analysis that makes our complex world
easier and faster to navigate and inspires
3. It is essential for executives to understand our clients to make smarter decisions.
that live TV is still the way most Americans With a strong presence in 90 countries,
watch their favorite games and teams. Ipsos employs more than 18,000 people
But the under-35 crowd is splitting their and conducts research programs in
attention between streaming and live more than 100 countries. Founded in
France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and
TV far more than older sports fans.
managed by research professionals.
4. Decision makers managing communication
risks and costs associated with on field
and live medical emergencies should
understand that player safety is very
important to the public. But Americans are
split on how exactly to handle gametime
medical emergencies, dividing Americans
by race and political affiliation.
5. As executives start to incorporate student-
athletes and their newfound stake in
business into their campaigns, it’s important
to understand that majorities of Americans
are willing to let go of tradition to let
college athletes profit off their brand, and
Black Americans are the most likely to
support this.
6. Business leaders tasked with maneuvering
the polarized political landscape should
know that issues around gender pay and
equity in sports are very politically
polarizing for the public.
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