For decades, live sports has been a linchpin that has kept millions of households from cutting the cord from the traditional TV bundle. But in 2025, live sports’ shift to streaming went from a leisurely pace to a full-out sprint — and fans are coming along with them.
According to a study by National Research Group in collaboration with The Wrap, sports fans of all ages — with the sole exception of Baby Boomers — are now more likely to watch content on streaming platforms than anywhere else. Key themes in the report include how streaming is introducing fans to new sports and how complementary “shoulder” content and online betting are deepening fan engagement.
Millennials surveyed by NRG led the pack, with 74% of respondents saying they watched live sports through streaming services, compared to 70% of Gen Z and Gen Xers who said the same and 47% of Baby Boomers. In no surprise, Boomers were most likely to watch live sports through basic cable (71%), followed by Gen X (53%), Millennials (52%) and Gen Z (42%).
YouTube was a particular standout in NRG’s survey, with 59% of Gen Z respondents, 50% of Millennial respondents, 39% of Gen X respondents and 15% of Baby Boomer respondents watching live sports through the platform. Some sports fans are also getting their fix through live TV services like YouTube TV and Sling TV. Respondents were least likely to watch sports through league-specific add-ons such as the NFL Sunday Ticket and NBA League Pass, regional sports networks such as Bally Sports and YES Network, and Twitch.
The data reinforces why there’s been such a rush for streamers to buy up the rights to various sports, and why those leagues can command such a premium. Recent examples include the NBA’s massive media rights deals brokered with Disney/ESPN, NBCUniversal and Prime Video, which kicked off this fall, and YouTube’s first-ever free livestream of an NFL game, which drew 17.3 million global viewers.
Netflix has also expanded its foothold in sports by acquiring rights to the MLB starting in 2026, following previous deals for the NFL’s annual Christmas Day games, WWE Raw and two boxing matches where Jake Paul faced off against Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua, respectively. Paramount’s new CEO David Ellison also made a splash with a $7.7 billion deal for the rights to the UFC, which ended the league’s pay-per-view model and became Paramount+’s most-watched exclusive live event ever with nearly 5 million views, while Apple secured a five-year media rights deal with Formula 1.
Despite streaming’s benefits, there’s also some downsides for sports fans, such as more confusion about where to watch the games they want to see and having to pay for multiple streaming services to see everything. Expensive sports rights can also turn into more pain for both companies and consumers in general, as streamers look to alleviate the cost through price increases.
Ampere Analysis projects that streaming services alone will spend $14.2 billion on sports rights in 2026, with Amazon expected to lead the pack. Most major sports rights in the U.S. are locked up for the next several years, with the potential exception of the NFL, which has the option of exercising an opt-out clause to get out of its current media rights deals after the 2028-2029 season. In 2021, the league reached agreements with Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX and NBC, collectively valued at over $100 billion.
Which means streamers will need to get creative if they want to get deeper into sports.
“If streamers want to continue their aggressive push into the sporting arena, they may need to either look further afield for international imports or invest more heavily into launching their own events,” NRG noted. “Netflix have set the trend with their celebrity-driven boxing matches; 2026 may see more streamers host their own standalone events and tournaments across a diverse range of sports.”
Check out the rest of the findings from the survey below to learn more about how streaming is helping sports fans discover new leagues and increasing engagement hrough shoulder programming and sports betting features.
Streaming is introducing fans to new leagues
NRG found that, while the NBA and NFL still command the lion’s share of attention, formerly niche leagues like the WNBA, Formula 1 and the English Premier League have seen growth in interest and awareness. In 2024, the WNBA was the fastest-growing brand in professional sports, boosted by the media frenzy surrounding star sharpshooter Caitlin Clark.
One of the biggest sporting highlights of 2026 will be the FIFA World Cup, which comes as interest in Major League Soccer is increasing and international club competitions are more accessible than ever. The event will be a major stress test for new streamer Fox One, which launched in August and will be among the platforms carrying the games.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha are less likely to take an interest in traditional mainstays like football or hockey, and more likely to follow basketball, wrestling and MMA. They also want to connect with star athletes on a more personal level through podcasts and vlogs. Additionally, they would rather engage with sports through highlight reels on TikTok, game breakdowns from other fans, and memes on platforms like Reddit and X.
“For them, fandom is about reacting, commenting, and sharing more than it is about sitting back and passively taking in a game,” NRG said.
‘Shoulder’ programming and sports betting
In addition to airing the games themselves, streamers are finding new opportunities to capitalize on fan engagement with sports through narrative storytelling, including shows, movies, documentaries and docuseries, as well as with betting features.
Programming examples include Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” and Apple’s original film “F1” starring Brad Pitt. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are also getting Americans to pay attention to the fifth tier of English soccer with FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham.”
NRG’s data finds that Gen Z are placing bets more often than any other group of sports fans and are the most likely to engage in related activities, such as speculating on sports-related memecoins and participating in fantasy leagues. Kalshi and Polymarket are also allowing for betting beyond the field itself, from who plays the halftime show to whether Taylor Swift shows up to watch the game.
ESPN’s new streaming service notably features live odds inside its platform and allows users to place bets directly by connecting to their ESPN BET account. Prime Video also launched a partnership with FanDuel to provide real-time bet tracking and odds for NBA games.
“As streaming normalizes this always-on model of engagement, we should expect to see further movement in this direction,” the study noted. “Sports fandom will become less tied down to specific moments in time, heavier on narrative, and more closely bound up with digital communities and gambling ecosystems.”
