New Stats Perform report shows sports’ excitement about the transformative potential of AI

January 18, 2025

A newly published report has revealed that sports media organisations and sponsors are excited about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence on helping grow fans and revenues.

Stats Perform’s 2025 Sports Fan Engagement, Content Monetisation & AI Trends Report also highlights investment trends in women’s sports, owned and operated digital properties, YouTube and Instagram reels.

A global leader in sports data and AI technology, Stats Perform’s 2025 Report includes key insights from over 700 sports media executives at organisations worldwide including The Athletic, BBC, Sky Sports, Denver Broncos, Yahoo, ESPN, T-Mobile, Livescore and Samsung about the evolving landscape of fan engagement and monetisation in 2025, and the associated role of AI.

Key findings include:

Those who have already adopted AI are three times as likely to find it easier to commercialise their content than those who have not invested in the technology yet.
Outside of monetising content, others are poised to leverage AI-driven personalisation, automation, and storytelling in 2025.
50% of sponsors are focusing on women’s sports, and opportunities remain for broadcasters and digital platforms to unlock its full potential.
Owned websites and apps are over twice as effective as social media for generating revenue, with YouTube and Instagram Reels as the most valuable social channels

Commenting on the findings, Stats Perform Chief Revenue Officer, Steve Xeller sated “this report underscores a defining moment for the sports industry.

“Deeper fan connections, powered by AI, innovation and cross-departmental collaboration, will determine which organisations thrive in an increasingly fragmented environment where the demands on content, media and commercial teams are greater than ever before.”

The survey also reveals optimism about AI’s future impact, with a 33% average positive shift in expectations for audience and monetisation growth through AI across all sectors in 2025, especially in stadium and out of home advertising, teams, leagues and federations and digital media and apps.

At the forefront of helping sports media organisations grow audiences and revenues, Stats Perform launched new AI-powered tools in 2024, including OptaAI Studio and Opta Stream.

Stats Perform Chief Commercial Officer, Alex Rice added “AI powered tools like Opta Stream and OptaAI Studio are proving to be highly effective at enabling sports media business to achieve more in less time, for the benefit of their fans and their commercial teams.

“This survey echoes the need for the products. It also provides a wealth of other insights from different sports media sectors, in different countries, which will make very useful reading for anyone connecting with fans and driving value for their organisations, wherever they are in the world.”

Click here to access the free to download 2025 Sports Fan Engagement, Content Monetisation & AI Trends Report .

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