Sports have changed a lot over the past decade. And so have the fans.

In the post-pandemic era, the “fan experience” is completely different to what it used to be. Fan demographics are more diverse, sports betting has taken over, and social media is now the go-to spot whenever you want to discuss all things sports-related.

Here’s a closer look at exactly what’s been going on.

More People Are Watching Sports Than Ever — And Fans Are Diverse

Despite ticket costs and streaming subscriptions skyrocketing, more people are watching sports than ever.

• ✅ The 2025 Super Bowl LIX — where the Philadelphia Eagles beat two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs — pulled a record-breaking 127.7 million viewers to make it the most-watched television event ever in the US
• ✅ 15.8 million people watched the N.Y. Yankees-L.A. Dodgers World Series in 2024 — the most in 7 years
• ✅ Fans are ditching cable TV for streaming – with digital viewing of live sports expected to reach 127.4 million US viewers by 2027
• ✅ 51% of people in the US are now fans of the NFL
• ✅ The number of sports Americans who say they watch live sports on social media grew by 34% between 2020 and 2024

Yep, sports viewership and overall engagement is booming. And that’s probably an understatement.

At the same time, fans across most major sports leagues have gotten much more diverse, too. Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of sports fans, while African Americans are currently the most passionate and engaged fans across generations. Not to mention, there’s also been the explosion of women’s sports across the US — particularly the WNBA — which has helped bring an entire new generation of female fans to the world of sports.

How Today’s Fans Are Watching Sports in the US

As mentioned before, the way today’s fans are watching sports has also undergone a major shift. In the old days, the only way you could catch an NFL or NBA game was through cable TV or splashing cash on actual game tickets. Thankfully, though, things have changed and it’s now much easier to absorb sports than it used to be.

Sure, cable TV is still a popular option, but we’re now seeing more fans switch to streaming services and social media to watch their favourite sports. It sort of makes sense, too, as most fans are more than happy to watch games on-the-go using their smartphones and tablets instead of needing to be glued to the television 24/7.

In 2025, Advanced Television reports that you’re actually more likely to watch sports on streaming platforms (like ESPN+ or DAZN) than traditional broadcasts or cable networks, with 69% of people now saying they watch at least some live games via streaming. And what does this tell us? Well, the sports viewing experience has modernized — and if the trend continues, traditional cable TV might have a shorter lifespan than some predicted.

The Takeover of Sports Betting

So, outside of the huge migration to streaming platforms to watch sports, what else have we seen in the US? Yep, you guessed it — a complete takeover of sports betting apps.

According to bettingtools.com, the 5 most-popular US sportsbooks are:

✔ DraftKings

✔ BetMGM

✔ Caesars

✔ FanDuel

✔ bet365

This is by far the biggest upward trend we’ve seen in the post-COVID era, as even casual sports fans — the type who would previously never even think about betting — have started to do it. In particular, fans have gone crazy for parlays. It’s essentially become parlay mania in the US, with countless fans creating parlays on game day weekends and then posting them to social media.

The reason it’s all happened is because of the wave of sports betting legalisation across most states in the US since 2018. Now, you can bet in a total of 39 states, which is why Statista reports the number of sports bettors in the US is expected to reach 36.9 million by 2025.

We’ve seen a year-by-year increase ever since 2018 and it’s now impossible to scroll social media or watch TV without seeing some type of gambling ad. Sports gambling has gone completely mainstream, helped by the fact that so many celebrities — Drake, Ben Affleck, Charles Barkley, John Cena, Kevin Hart and others — have begun starring in these gambling ads for the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings.

Interestingly, it’s now reaching a point where sports betting is potentially getting too big. Many are concerned that there’s a gambling epidemic in the US, so it’ll be interesting to see how this evolves as we move towards 2030. But until changes are made, online sports betting will continue playing a huge role in the modern fan experience.

Summary

Almost every aspect of sports viewership has changed over the past decade.

Fans are way more diverse. Millions of people have ditched cable TV for streaming services. And there’s been an insane increase in the number of Americans downloading apps like FanDuel so that they can bet on their favourite sports (and, sometimes, sports that they don’t even watch).

Moving forward, we can expect more of the same. Fan viewership will keep shooting up, especially when it comes to the NFL, MLB, and other major leagues — while the fans themselves will continue to watch across streaming platforms and social media.