A new report from media company Nexxen details how Australians are consuming live sport in 2025.

The key takeaway is that linear television still rules the roost but is nowhere near as central as it once was.

AFL leads Australian sports viewership, followed by cricket, rugby league, tennis and soccer.

According to ACMA, 65% of Australians actively engage with live sport. However, the way people watch sporting events is shifting.

Connected TV (CTV) has surpassed linear TV in daily usage, capturing 58% of the market share compared to 46% for broadcast TV.

Streaming platforms are experiencing significant growth, with an 87% year-over-year increase.

But once again, the increasing prominence of the streamers doesn’t mean “television is dead”. Nexxen found 43% of ‘Dedicated Fans’ – those who watch most of their team’s games – mix linear with CTV.

More surprisingly, it found 37% of Gen Z adults still watch traditional TV alongside streaming.

Even live sport now struggles to compete with ‘dual-screen’ behaviour

The study highlights how younger demographics are driving the adoption of CTV.

More than 60% of Gen Z and Millennials use connected TVs, with Gen Z averaging three sports subscriptions, compared to the average of two.

But an abundance of platforms and sporting content isn’t all upside.

No less than 46% of fans say they’ve missed games because they couldn’t work out where to watch them, while 39% feel overwhelmed by the number of subscriptions they need to juggle.

High churn rates and “subscription burnout” are emerging as defining features of the market.

Fans also rarely watch matches with just one screen.

Nearly three-quarters of people multitask on a second device during live games, often checking stats, texting, or scrolling through social media. That dual-screen behaviour is both a challenge and an opportunity for advertisers.

For advertisers, broadcasters and sporting teams alike, the challenge is now cutting through the clutter of platforms, subscriptions and devices to meet fans where they are.