As younger generations consume more sports through streaming, location has less impact on fandom
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This isn’t happening out of nowhere. How younger fans consume sports has changed, and their allegiances are becoming less locationally based. A May study conducted by PMG Worldwide, a global marketing firm based in Dallas, explored many of the changing dynamics in sports fandom.
The report detailed the generational gaps in how sports are being consumed. With more fans steering away from traditional cable packages and moving into the streaming environment, there isn’t the same focus on local teams. Gen X, born from 1965 to 1980, grew up in a world where it was normal to have only a few weekly games available to watch. At best, an NFL Sunday meant one early afternoon game, one late afternoon game and a primetime game. With limited viewing options, support for the local team was passed down from an older family member.
Among millennials (1981-1996), PMG found an increasing interest in changing team loyalty when moving cities, with hometown loyalty not entrenched in the same way.
For Gen Z, born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, it’s a completely different ballgame.
“It’s really that fandom at the athlete level,” said Joe Flowers, PMG’s Director of Integrated Strategy. “Finding out who are those star personalities? Who are the ones that are dominating your social media feeds? Who were the ones whose highlight reel clips you kept seeing over and over again? Who are the ones who are on the cover of FIFA or on the cover of Madden and had the really cool jersey that you wanted to wear because all your friends were wearing it too?”
Flowers noted the recent example of LeBron James fans, who have rooted for him everywhere he goes and have little care for the fate of his former teams. For those fans, the player gets priority for support, rather than the team. 51 percent of respondents to a PMG survey said they connect brands with their favorite players, and 25 percent said they consider an athlete’s values when exploring brands.
As streaming becomes paramount to the sports viewing experience, the idea of locationless fandom continues to grow. Over 60 percent of the people surveyed in the PMG study said that “streaming enhances their sports fandom experience because of accessibility and available content.” In 2023, MLS struck a deal with Apple TV+ to broadcast all of its matches. New MLS fans are being introduced to the league in a 100 percent streaming environment.
“It’s the perfect example of how streaming led to this borderless fandom,” said Shelina Taki, the Head of Strategic Planning and Insights at PMG. “Because the MLS team footprint is so much smaller than other major North American leagues, it transcends borders. You’re rooting for a player whose identity you align with, especially with the amount of international players from Europe and South America. It makes fandom less about where you’re living, and more about what you connect with.”
The presence of social media also continues to play a role in the changing dynamics. Many younger fans are choosing to watch games along with streamers on platforms like YouTube or Twitch, relating more to their perspective of the game. Social platforms created a “customized” experience for fans, building a number of different communities.
“It’s almost like technology made every fan local,” Taki said. “You don’t need a hometown anymore. You just need access to the platforms.”
Attending live sporting events is also as expensive as it’s ever been. NBA tickets have jumped from an average price of $30 to $218 in 2023, while MLB tickets are up from $10 in 1995 to $37 in 2023. With younger fans being priced out of game attendance at home, they may not be as inclined to cheer on their local teams.
Meanwhile, fans appear more willing to splurge on long trips to see their favorite team play. According to a 2024 global American Express survey, more than one-third of adults were planning to travel for sports in 2025. 38 percent of those fans were planning trips longer than six hours. Two-thirds of millennials and members of Gen Z said they were interested in traveling for a live sporting event, which was higher than the 58 percent of all respondents who said they would do so.
Hosting a home game by no means guarantees a supportive, welcome crowd these days. Road fan invasions are becoming increasingly commonplace, as evidenced this fall in the NFL. Packers fans recently invaded Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, creating a tough environment for the Steelers in a place known for a great home-field advantage. In recent years, San Francisco 49ers fans have dubbed SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams, “Levi’s South” due to their large numbers for every road game against their divisional foe. Even a smaller fanbase like the Ravens dominated the crowd in a road game against the Miami Dolphins last week.
In 2023, the sports travel business produced approximately $609 billion in global revenue, which was projected to grow by 16 percent by 2030. The cost of sports travel packages in the US will be just short of $3 billion this year, and is anticipated to reach $3.5 billion, according to Euromonitor.
Joseph DeMarinis, the founder of sports travel package company BookSeats, pointed out in a December 2024 Forbes article that younger generations are very excited about traveling for live games.
“The power of social media and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives fans to be part of big, shared moments,” Demarinis said.
Tom Hur went viral last month for his 6,000-mile trip to Detroit to watch his favorite team. Known on X as @KoreaPistonsFan, Hur spent October 24-31 in Detroit and was welcomed with open arms by the Motor City. The 32-year-old met a number of Pistons players, including star Cade Cunningham, and also received free merch from all four Detroit professional sports teams. The entire trip, including restaurant visits, was documented on Hur’s social media.
Unforgettable experience for @KoreaPistonsFanpic.twitter.com/PXADXbocdH
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 29, 2025
The globalization of sports through social media continues to produce long-distance fans.
“Look at everything that you see the NFL doing with their expansion,” Flowers said. “They want to win these global markets. They want to encourage not just the U.S. They’re not just trying to endear fans in the UK and in Germany to the NFL. They want to grow fandom there, and they want them to travel to see the sport, whether it’s in their own country or abroad.”
It’s not just US franchises attracting fans from around the world. More American fans continued to become engrossed in European leagues, like soccer’s English Premier League and Formula 1 car racing.
“A lot of Americans who are now really into it, there’s something to be said for watching at a pub or something on a weekend,” Taki said. “But I think traveling to the home base or being in a really well-known stadium, there’s just no replacement for that in that community. So I think those immersive experiences are very interesting.”
The modern fan is more attracted to rooting for a story and supporting a team that aligns with their values. NWSL team Angel City FC quickly became very popular after joining the league in 2022, thanks to its inclusivity efforts.
“You root for a story or for something that makes you feel seen or represented,” Taki said. “You see that with [women’s tennis player] Coco Gauff or [Formula 1 driver] Lewis Hamilton, it’s a big values alignment. I think we’re seeing with this digital connectivity that especially with the younger generations, it’s a lot about what you value and what makes you feel represented. And those stories are resonating, I think, more than geography.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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