Sports and Entertainment: Key insights on fandom, betting, media, and more
Entertainment is both a central aspect of American cultural life and a major economic driver. But the ways we play, spectate, and entertain ourselves are changing amidst generational shifts, technological innovation, climate change, and more. Read on for a closer look at Ipsos’ exclusive data on sports, entertainment, and media.
Americans show increased concerns about sports betting
- According to an April 2026 Ipsos poll, a majority of Americans believe that sports betting lessens the integrity of the game, an increase from this past November. 56% of Americans now agree that sports betting lessens the integrity of the game — a seven-percentage point increase from November 2025, and a nineteen-percentage point increase from 2023, when this question was first asked.
Sports fandom is stable
- As of April 2026, sixty-eight percent of Americans say they are fans of at least one sport, in line with 2025 (67%), 2024 (68%) and 2023 (68%). Professional football continues to top the list of sports that Americans say they are fans of, followed by baseball, college football, and men’s basketball.
The generational gaps on the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Around half of Americans engaged with the 2026 Winter Olympics in some form, whether through streaming or live TV. But younger Americans aren't watching the same way previous generations have: recent Ipsos polling shows they're less interested in the 2026 Winter Olympics, and when they do tune in, patriotism isn't as big of a draw.
Ipsos' data on Super Bowl LX ads
- Ipsos combined various different data sources for an exclusive look at the Top 10 ads of the 2026 Super Bowl, from Pepsi's polar bears to Kinder Bueno's aliens. Or read our latest POV to learn why megaevents are becoming a trust play for B2B brands, not just consumer ones.
Americans show broad support for college athletes being paid through NIL - but support is softening
- Nearly half of Americans (48%) support allowing college athletes to be paid money for sports-related business ventures using their name, image and likeness, compared to 26% who oppose. This is a drop in in support from September 2025, when 58% showed support compared to just 16% who opposed it.
Despite the hype, most Americans don't plan to watch NCAA March Madness
There’s a lot of hype around the NCAA tournaments each year with the women’s tournament now also drawing massive audiences and sponsorship dollars. But most Americans (56%, up a tick from 54% last year) don’t plan to watch any of it (by contrast, the Super Bowl is more of a three-in-four plan-to-watch event). (Read more.)
Half of Americans think sports betting lessens the integrity of the game
The attitude that sports betting lessens the integrity of the game has risen since 2023, especially among sports fans. When it comes to the perception that sporting events are rigged due to sports gambling, there’s a pronounced generational gap, with older Americans considerably more likely to be concerned. (Read more.)
How young adults spend their time online
18- to 24-year-old men over-index on PC/console games — they're twice as likely (66%) to play them multiple times a week as the average (32%). They're three times as likely (16% vs 5%) to pay for creator porn like OnlyFans, and three times as likely (22% vs 7%) to be viewing AI-generated porn. And they also way over-index on online sports betting, trading cryptocurrencies and using prediction markets. (Read more.)
Americans say they're more likely to spend on in-person experiences than extra streaming platforms
Americans report being more likely to spend money on live tickets or in-person experiences than extra streaming platforms, with one in three Americans saying they attended a sporting event in-person in 2024. (Read more.)
Americans show broad support for paying college athletes through NIL
Ipsos' 2025 Sports Poll finds that Americans show strong support for paying college athletes and sharing athletic department revenues with them. The majority continue to agree that NIL has a positive impact on college athletics. At the same time, Americans also acknowledge the commercialized aspects of college athletics — a majority agree that the focus is now on making money, and some are concerned that the tradition and pageantry are being lost. (Read more.)
Different fans express their fandom in different ways
Younger Americans (under age 34) are twice as likely to say they are fans of specific brands and specific athletes than older Americans (ages 55+). They’re four to five times as likely to be fans of celebrities and influencers (often used to deliver brand messages and endorsements) and four times as likely to be fans of video games, a channel to reach young people on. All of this is good news for brands, because younger consumers are notoriously hard to reach and younger fans are more than twice as likely to say they are more likely to buy products or services from sponsors of things they are fans of. (Read more.)
Men show 2x-3x higher betting interest than women but there's still limited mainstream appeal
The surge in prediction markets highlights a new dimension of risk-taking as indulgence. In What the Future: Indulgence, Dartmouth University’s Eric Zitzewitz discusses the nuanced behavioral patterns driving this trend and their broader implications. (Read more.)
Four in ten admit to churning streaming services
Half of younger Americans subscribe for a show and then bail. About four in ten across groups say they find it easy to get discount codes or free trials. And six in ten say there are too many services, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker. (Read more.)
Further reading
Why the Biggest Event Stages are Becoming a Trust Play for B2B brands — March 18, 2026
Americans view prediction markets as closer to gambling — March 18, 2026
Despite the hype, most don’t plan to watch any NCAA March Madness — March 17, 2026
Ipsos Data Drops: Sports betting is booming. Here's how Americans feel about it. — January 14, 2026
Historical data:
- How TikTok is changing the game for sports engagement — June 16, 2025
- What the Future: Fandom — April 24, 2025
- Four in ten admit to churning streaming services — April 11, 2025
- March Madness continues its plateau — March 14, 2025
- Ipsos 2025 Sports Poll — March 10, 2025
- Most did what they told us they would when it came to watching the Super Bowl — February 18, 2025
- Ipsos reveals the Super Bowl's best ads of 2025 — February 10, 2025
- Most Americans plan to watch the Super Bowl, but many are more excited for the puppy bowl — January 31, 2025
- Insights to Activate: The Super Bowl’s Best Ads — January 13, 2025
- Misfits and the Machine: Why AI alone can’t crack creative effectiveness — October 28, 2024
- Directing Change: Ipsos and Paramount — October 2024
- Most Americans overwhelmed by number of streaming services — October 18, 2024
- Acting with an Empathetic Marketing Mindset — September 20, 2024
- How ads went for gold at the 2024 Summer Games — September 19, 2024
- What online communities reveal about who consumers trust — September 12, 2024
- What the Future: Leisure — July 25, 2024
- How experimental art is reaching young audiences in new ways — July 25, 2024
- Why Americans think streaming TV is only getting better — April 22, 2024
- These were the 15 best Super Bowl ads in 2024. Here's why, according to hard data from Ipsos. — February 12, 2024
- One in five Americans plan to bet on the Super Bowl in 2024 — February 9, 2024
- Majority of parents would let their children play tackle football if they wanted to — February 8, 2024
- We think entertainment is costing more, and it's impacting behavior — October 16, 2023
- Sports in America: What we play, what we watch, what we agree on—and what we don’t — February 22, 2023
- Cornhole and bowling are the sports most Americans played last year — February 22, 2023
- Betting on sports betting growth — February 3, 2023
- Sports betting is everywhere. How do Americans feel about it? — February 1, 2023
- Sports gambling growth driven by small group of highly engaged sports fans — February 1, 2023
- What the Future: Play — January 10, 2023
- More than half of adults across 34 countries plan to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup — November 10, 2022
- Sports: A sure bet to reach the affluent consumer — June 16, 2022
- America’s pastime is changing — April 8, 2022
- Americans are excited for the Super Bowl (and the ads) again — February 10, 2022
- Americans support a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics — February 4, 2022
- US and global public attitudes to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics — February 2, 2022
- What the Future: Entertainment — November 16, 2021
- How are the futures of fantasy sports and betting linked? — September 20, 2021
- What the Future: Sports — September 20, 2021
- Global views on sports: 58% globally would like to practice more — August 3, 2021
- Americans show signs of ambivalence about the Olympics — July 20, 2021
- Views split on whether athletes should take a stand on political, social issues — March 20, 2021
Webinars:
- Show me the money: Affluent fans & the economics of sports — April 14, 2022
- Sports (and sports fandom) in America — April 11, 2023
