Are millennials swiping left on sports? an analysis of the causes behind young people’s apparent lack of interest in sports

Abstract

A rising concern in many sports markets around the world is the seeming lack of interest in sports among younger people. TV sports viewership from this demographic is frequently down, event attendance is down, even sports participation is down. Past research on sport consumer behaviour has offered valuable insights on the possible motives that can be considered predictors of sport consumption decisions. That said, most of these studies have been developed in the form of survey based descriptive research, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the possible causes of this phenomenon. This study aims at closing a gap in the existent literature by developing an explorative study that wishes to provide an initial understanding of how different economic, behavioral and demographic factors can affect the involvement with sports of different generations of sports fans. The results indicate that some economic and behavioral factors have a significant effect on sports fans’ involvement with sports. When it comes to generational differences, however, the results do not support the idea that young sports fans have a significantly different interest in sports compared to the previous generation. This research offers several interesting managerial insights for sponsors, media companies and sports clubs that are reliant on capturing the largest audience possible for their sports.