Global strategy consultancy Altman Solon has published the 7th edition of its Annual Global Sports Survey, which includes input from 250 senior global sports executives and 6,000 sports fans across the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the United States.
To engage fans in 2026, Altman Solon suggests sports executives and rights owners evolve toward a multi-format, multi-channel offering, as media consumption is no longer anchored in linear TV.
“Format preferences now vary widely by age group, requiring new approaches to fan engagement, rights packaging, licensing, and monetisation,” said the report.
According to the company, sports viewing remains strong across age groups and continues to grow, most notably among 25–34-year-olds, where total consumption is the highest of any cohort and has increased 6 per cent compared to three to five years ago. This group watches over four hours of live sports per week, similar to older audiences, while consuming significantly more highlights and other non-live formats.
Among 18–34-year-olds, the shift is decisive: they spend nearly three times as much time on non-live formats as on live sports, underscoring that consumption is expanding beyond the linear live broadcast, said the analysts.
“We believe the industry is entering a new era of accelerated transformation, where the scale of opportunity matches the scale of change required to capture it,” says Matt Del Percio, associate partner at Altman Solon. “Sports monetisation gains will be increasingly driven by leveraging fan and team data, not just live broadcasts.”
