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Sport & Entertainment

WELCOME MICHAEL MILLER

insights and the actionable intelligence you need to navigate an ever-evolving market. From Advocacy to Travel, through to Wellness, Sport and Finance, each specialised session is built for genuine collaboration. Our commitment is to work hand-in-hand with you, ensuring every interaction is efficient, effective, and delivers real outcomes. This program embodies our dedication to being your trusted partner, helping you to not only meet but exceed your objectives in 2027, and beyond. We look forward to helping you build a future that produces real, measurable success.

WELCOME TO BEYOND’ 27, WHERE WE GET REAL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS .

The premise behind Beyond’27 is straightforward: we’re here to help you cut through the noise, get ahead of the curve and genuinely grow your business. The reality is that the world is changing fast. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. We’re seeing incredible progress, but also a lot of uncertainty. Beyond’27 is about helping you find that sweet spot between bold innovation and practical application. It’s about bringing together our unparalleled expertise and insights to engage in dynamic dialogues that directly address your most pressing needs. We believe in leading upfront, giving you real

Michael Miller, Executive Chairman, News Corp Australasia

Sport & Entertainment

CONTENTS SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT

4-7

Introduction Sport & Entertainment

8-9

Headwinds to navigate Early visible proof points

10-17

Enduring needs Tribalism, Belonging, Escape, Identity, Ritual and Participation

18-21

Tailwinds to leverage Early visible proof points

22-23

The wrap Beyond 2027

BEYOND THE NOISE LEIGH LAVERY

INTRODUCING

decision-making across this category. That is the central idea behind this white paper series. In Sport & Entertainment, we explore the headwinds brands will need to navigate, the tailwinds they can use to grow, and the enduring human needs that give those shifts meaning. Our belief is simple: the brands best placed to grow will be the ones that can read both the changing world around people, and the enduring needs within them. We’re excited to share these insights with you, and we hope they serve as a practical guide as you build for sustainable growth through 2027 and beyond.

THE GROWTH DISTILLERY.

At The Growth Distillery, we exist to help businesses understand people more deeply and make better decisions because of it. Our role is to decode the forces shaping consumer behaviour, separate the signals that matter from the noise and turn that understanding into opportunity. That task has never felt more urgent. The world is changing quickly. Technology is reshaping how people watch, follow and participate. Fragmentation, subscription pressure and always-on fandom are changing the conditions in which brands compete. And yet, beneath all of that change, something important remains stable: what people fundamentally want. The tools, platforms and behaviours may evolve, but enduring human needs do not move nearly as quickly. The desire to belong, escape, express identity, take part and share in something bigger than themselves continues to shape

Leigh Lavery, General Manager, The Growth Distillery

Sport & Entertainment In a more complex and isolating world, sport and entertainment matter more than ever. They give people something rare: escape, belonging, an emotional reset, and a shared connection; and the emotional pull is only intensifying. 66% of sports fans say sport helps them escape life’s problems — up from 53% in 2021. 59% say sport brings them closer to family or friends — up from 51% in 2021. (Source: The Lighthouse Consumer Sentiment Tracker / The Growth Distillery)

more connected or more deeply woven into daily life. Fans can follow teams, leagues, creators, players and storylines across broadcast, streaming, social feeds, clips, podcasts, group chats and fantasy apps every day of the week.

Beyond 2027, the advantage will favour the brands, rights holders and platforms that reduce friction, sharpen emotional payoff and understand that fandom now lives far beyond the primary event.

Sports and entertainment are becoming less event-bound and more always-on. The category has never been more available,

Headwinds to navigate

46% of live sports fans have missed games because they could not work out where to watch them.

PRE DI CTE D H E A DWIND Beyond 2027, the peaks will get bigger while regular seasons and everyday programming get squeezed harder.

Beyond 2027, this pressure is likely to become more structural than cyclical. As rights splinter, schedules expand, and audiences move between services in real time, the standard season and the standard programming model will come under greater pressure. Big cultural peaks will continue to perform, but everything around them will have to fight harder for time, memory and attention. 10

more dispersed across digital environments than it once was.

Early proof points already visible

More exposure is not translating into more memory. EssenceMediacom Australian Attention Index found viewers now face an average of 45 distinct brands per game or event broadcast, while average brand recall has fallen to 29%. Audiences are seeing more commercial messages, but remembering fewer of them.

Regular-season and everyday sport content are getting squeezed as attention pools around the biggest global moments. The pipeline will only intensify the concentration effect, with more global events slated for 2027: 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2027 Rugby World Cup, LA 2028 Olympics and Men's Cricket World Cup 2027.

The subscription stack is growing faster than the time to use it. The Growth Distillery, Entertainment Nation 2026 found Australian households now hold an average of 4.4 streaming accounts on average and 40% cut spend on streaming in the last month. In a fragmented, budget-conscious environment, routine programming has to work harder to stay essential.

Fragmentation is already causing people to miss the thing they wanted to watch. Nexxen’s 2025 Australian live sports study, reported by Campaign Brief, found that 46% of live sports fans have missed games because they could not work out where to watch them.

Discovery friction is also turning into churn. Gracenote’s 2025 State of Play findings, reported by TVTechnology, found that 49% of viewers would cancel a service if it became too hard to find something to watch, while 19% would abandon the session entirely, rising to 29% of 18–24s.

The surrounding ecosystem is becoming just as important as the primary event. 2026 Altman Solon Global Sports Survey shows that highlights, behind-the-scenes content and creator-led commentary are now deeply embedded in how audiences follow sport. That means standard seasons can no longer rely on the live fixture alone to hold relevance week to week.

By 2027, the category is likely to see bigger peaks and weaker in-between

Broadcast is no longer the single organising force it once was. The ACMA 2026 Communications and Media Report confirms that online services now dominate the national media diet, with a massive 91% of Australian adults utilising online video platforms every single week. Even where free-to-air stabilises, attention is now far

moments. That will place downward pressure on standard programming, standard release windows and standard seasonal rhythms that once felt more secure. 11

Enduring needs Beneath these shifts sit needs that are too deeply rooted in human behaviour to move with platform cycles, rights deals or recommendation systems. In Sport & Entertainment, the most relevant needs remain: tribalism, belonging, escape, identity, ritual and participation. The formats around them will keep changing. The needs themselves will not.

“Part of a person's concept of self comes from the groups to which that person belongs.” Henri Tajfel & John Turner, Social Identity Theory, 1979

62% of sports fans say “My team's wins feels like my wins, and my team's losses feel like my losses”. The Growth Distillery, Sporting Nation 2026

Tribalism endures because people continue to define themselves through the groups they care about. Teams, codes, genres and fandoms give people a side to stand on, a rivalry to feel and a language of shared meaning. The objects of allegiance may shift, but the need to attach part of the self to a group remains constant. 13

“Human beings have a pervasive drive to form and maintain lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships.” Roy Baumeister & Mark Leary, "The Need to Belong," Psychological Bulletin, 1995

59% of sports fans say “Sport brings me closer to my family or friends”. The Growth Distillery, Sporting Nation 2026

Belonging will not fade because it asks to be renewed continuously. Fans do not simply want content. They want a place, a community and a sense of recognised membership. Sport and entertainment remain efficient at delivering that because they give people something to gather around again and again. 14

“Individuals tend to arrange their environment so that good mood is maximised and bad mood is diminished.” Dolf Zillmann, Mood Management Theory, 1988

66% of sports fans say “Sport allows me to temporarily escape life’s problems” (Sporting Nation). 64% of Australians say they use entertainment as a way to reset or recharge emotionally. The Growth Distillery, Reframe Entertainment, 2025

Escape remains central because daily life still generates stress, pressure and emotional fatigue. Sport and entertainment continue to offer one of the most accessible ways to reset, release tension and step briefly outside ordinary routines. The vehicles change. The human need for emotional release does not. 15

“Identity deals with a process located both in the core of the individual and in the core of communal culture.” Erik Erikson, Identity: Youth and Crisis, 1968

Australians now rank their passions as more central to identity and belonging than career, politics or religion. The Growth Distillery, Fuel or Fandom 2026

Identity endures because people keep using culture to signal who they are. What someone follows, wears, references and shares all help shape a coherent sense of self. That is why fandom no longer ends at the event itself. It travels into fashion, conversation, playlists, memes and the personalities people choose to stay close to. 16

“The very fact of assembling is an exceptionally powerful stimulant.” Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, 1912

67% of sports fans say that sport has always been a major part of their life. The Growth Distillery, Sporting Nation 2026

Ritual remains powerful because shared repetition gives time structure and meaning. Match day, season openers, finals, premieres and post-game discussion all perform the same deeper function: they organise emotion and create a rhythm people return to. The ritual may now stretch across a week rather than a fixed broadcast slot, but its role is no less important. 17

“The very fact of assembling is an exceptionally powerful stimulant.” Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, 1912

58% of sports fans say “I tailor my sports content to the sports and players I follow”. The Growth Distillery, Sporting Nation 2026

Participation will not diminish because people do not want to remain passive when the tools to respond, create, predict and interact are already in their hands. The stronger the emotional investment, the stronger the desire to do something with it. That is why fandom keeps moving from observation toward contribution. 18

Tailwinds to leverage

56% of entertainment audiences consume content beyond the show.

PRE DI CTE D TAI LWIND #1 Beyond 2027, the real growth will be in the lives around the live moment.

One of the strongest growth signals in this category is that the primary event no longer holds exclusive power. Increasingly, attention is being built through the people, stories, rituals and interactions surrounding the event: the athlete lifestyle, the off-field narrative, the fan conversation, the companion podcast, the creator reaction and the community that keeps the story alive between peaks. The event still creates the peak, but the surrounding human story now sustains the relationship. 20

$2.5 billion investment into Korean content, with blockbuster series and films, such as Squid Game and K-Pop Demon Hunters, breaking streaming records with hundreds of millions of views.

Early proof points already visible Most sports engagement is already happening away from live coverage. The Growth Distillery’s Sporting Nation 2026 found that 54% of fan engagement now takes place outside live sport, rising to 61% for New Wave Fans.

The off-screen story is already part of the product. Formula 1’s 2025 Global Fan Survey found that 58% of Gen Z and women respondents say lifestyle and fashion are part of their fandom, showing how much relevance now sits with the real people around the sport, not only the competition itself.

Entertainment is no different. The Growth Distillery’s Entertainment Nation 2026 found that 56% of entertainment audiences consume content beyond the show or event, such as reviews, recaps and interviews. And 64% say they are interested in more of it.

Case Study: Vozinha (Cape Verde), pictured left, the 40-year-old goalkeeper went from 30,000 to over 29.5 million Instagram followers after a heroic performance against Spain. Tim Payne (New Zealand): After an Argentine commentator labelled him the “least known player,” a massive viral internet campaign skyrocketed his Instagram following from 5,000 to over 5.5 million.

Entertainment fandom is driven by surrounding activities, not just the primary product. The University of Canberra Digital News Report: Australia highlights that 47% of Australians now use social media feeds as their primary path to content discovery, while 27% rely directly on creator networks and online communities to decide what is culturally relevant. Reinforcing that the surrounding digital ecosystem is just as vital as the primary broadcast asset.

These behaviours point to a future where “live” will matter less as a scheduling term and more as an emotional ecosystem. The strongest brands in the category

Borderless fandom is scaling this engagement on a global scale. Genius Sports Ltd 2025 Fan Project found that only 7% of women’s sports fans follow a team because they live nearby, making it one of the most scalable and digitally native fan bases in sports. Netflix backed a historic

will understand that culture now extends well beyond the whistle, the episode or the result.

Tailwinds to leverage

Total market annual sports spend for New Wave fans is $12.4 billion.

PR E DI CTE D TAI LWIND #2 “New Wave” fans will be the most important audience for the next phase of commercial growth. The next phase of growth is unlikely to come from serving only the most rusted-on fans more intensely. It will come from the audiences broadening the category: younger fans, women, culturally diverse communities and multi-interest fans who move fluidly across sport, entertainment, fashion and personality-led culture. These audiences are not weaker versions of traditional fandom. They are reshaping what fandom looks like. 22

the $2,014 / average annual spend per fan for Fanatics.

Early proof points already visible

New Wave fans over-index on high-value discretionary purchases. New Wave fans over-index on spend in key categories e.g. travel, hospitality and fantasy sport; and almost match the Fanatics with spend on subscriptions and betting. Modern fandom is increasingly multicode, not single-code. The Growth Distillery’s Sporting Nation 2025 found that the average fan now follows 5.2 sports, up 18% since 2021.

New Wave fans are driving audience growth in sport. The Growth Distillery’s Sporting Nation 2026 shows that the number of Australian sports fans has ticked over 17M, but while growth of the most die hard sports fans, the “Fanatics”, has stalled (-5% pts) the “New Wave Fans” have grown (+6% pts), becoming the largest segment of Australian sports fans (7.2M compared to 6.6M for fanatics).

Commercial relevance now extends into lifestyle and identity. Formula 1’s 2025 Global Fan Survey shows newer fan cohorts are blurring what they watch with what they wear and the personalities they follow, helping explain why fandom increasingly spills into fashion, conversation and everyday identity. HYROX turns fitness into a shareable culture people train for, travel for and pay to belong to: exactly the kind of behaviour that shows why growth is moving beyond the live moment.

New wave fans are under-40, more culturally diverse and higher-earning. They are social-led, the only sporting fan where social media (61%) beats free-to-air TV (47%) in their sports consumption. They have a balanced diet of local and global sporting codes, and want skin in the game to participate, not just watch. New Wave fans are more like digital curators. They spend less time in pure live consumption, follow a more balanced mix of local and global codes, and live further beyond the live window.

New Wave fans engage with

Fanatics remain a critical audience, but the scale of New Wave fans reinforces why they should remain a key focus for future growth. Total market annual sports spend for New Wave fans has increased +1.2M YoY, to $12.4 billion, with an average annual spend per fan of $1,728, just shy of

sport as culture, personality and participation, and they are the only segment growing at scale.

THE WRA P Beyond 2027, scale is likely to come from breadth as much as depth. The brands that grow will be the ones that recognise fandom as a broader cultural behaviour: less bound by old categories, more fluid across passions, and more commercially powerful because of it. The practices will keep shifting: more fragmentation, more screens, more global codes competing for attention and more always-on culture between the big moments. The deeper opportunity looks steadier than that. The biggest opportunity is not just owning the moment. It’s becoming part of the stories, rituals and communities that give those moments meaning, and the New Wave fans who live there. That is how brands move beyond the live event and become part of the fan experience itself.