LiveScore, one of the world’s best-loved sports media brands, has celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of its Evolution of Fan report. In this report, the company highlights the evolution of the soccer community over the past two decades and a half.
Evolution of Fan is based on data from 25,000 fans, demonstrating how the information age has changed the way in which fans interact with the sport. Participants represent a small sample of the company’s vast user base and include both men and women from the UK.
According to LiveScore, 82% of fans feel that the advancement of technology has improved their fan experience, compared to 25 years ago. Additionally, 93% of respondents told the media brand that the ability to keep up to date with news and results in real time has enhanced soccer as a whole.
Interestingly, 82% of respondents over the age of 55 told LiveScore that they cannot imagine a world without instant sports updates, despite having lived through an era without mobile phones and the internet.
LiveScore, which started as the SMS-based sports update system Teletext, is now standing as one of the leaders in sports media. However, 19% of Generation Z customers don’t even know what Teletext is, according to the survey.
Apps and Social Media Changed How Fans Experience Sports
Additional data shows that 79% of LiveScore users think that modern content consumption is driven by immediacy and mobility. Furthermore, 63% of users say they engage with social media platforms or online communities while following live soccer scores.
According to the report, 84% of fans feel more connected to the sport thanks to the emergence of instant score updates. Additionally, 53% of fans believe that technology has rendered certain regulations, such as the 3pm blackout, irrelevant.
In addition to technology, the prevalence of social media has also changed how fans interact with soccer. Evolution of Fan shows that 64% of fans aged 18-24 get their soccer news through social media, compared to just 31% of the fans aged 55 and above who preferred sports apps and online sites instead.
Speaking of that, in 2023, LiveScore saw a 48% social media growth. A whopping 93% of all fans told the media company that social media has enhanced their fan match experience and 83% say that social media platforms have enhanced their knowledge of the sport. Instagram, for example, is a key communication channel for many fans of soccer, attracting millions of followers.
Nowadays, 92% of fans engage with soccer content on a daily basis. Additionally, 51% go a step further and engage with content every few hours.
For more insights and curious soccer data, check LiveScore’s full report.