Post-Pandemic Insights into Sports Fandom Habits

SPORTS FANDOM IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD 2021 Annual Study of Sports Fan Habits and Behaviors

ABOUT US Leading provider of sports market analytics and sports marketing research in the US Comprehensive online platform of nationwide sports marketing analytics, using syndicated and custom proprietary research for the professional and college sports, consumer research, industry reports, and licensed industry articles. Extensive research and custom reports covering sports participation, the fan market and behaviors, venues, sponsorships, and expenditure on sporting goods, brand preference and more. Attendance Analytics Brand share-of- Market Analytics College Sports Analytics Neil Schwartz has more than two decades of marketing & consumer research experience in the sports, fitness and active lifestyle categories. He has worked for SportScan from SkomOngource in addition to heading the research team at the Sports & Fitness Industry Assoc. (SFIA) Neil has been a featured speaker at many industry conferences and events. He is also well respected for his work with leading financial and investment firms and top brands in the sports footwear and apparel Logo Apparel Analytics Esports Analytics Fantasy Analytics Sponsorship Influence Analytics Social Media Analytics Sports Equipment Analytics Mark Sullivan is a former editor and publisher in sports business and one of the founders of The Running Event, the largest B2B conference and trade show in the world. He sold The Running Event in 2018 and now runs a consulting business whose clients include several global companies in the active lifestyle business. Sports Participation Analytics Streaming Audience Analytics TV Audience Analytics Macro Economic DATA Sports Gambling Player Analytics 2

STREAMING MEDIA FANDOM FANTASY SPORTS THE SIX ELEMENTS FOR SPORTS FANDOM IN A POST PANDEMIC WORLD E-SPORTS SOCIAL GAMBLING ON SPORTS MEDIA ENGAGEMENT 3

SPORTS FAN SUMMARY This report examines the level of fandom or fan loyalty for a specific sport, for both college and professional. This does not include live attendance at games as the pandemic kept fans out of stadiums and arenas. The full data drills down into individual teams. Except for the NFL, most major professional and college sports are experiencing a 3-Year decline in preference. The NFL has been able to grow on a Y/Y and 3-year average change basis. The median age is skewing younger across the board. % of US pop. 13+ that attended or watched games/matches/races in past 12 months Median Age of Fans Total US (age 13+) 2019 36% 26% 24% 44% 34% 18% 10% Y/Y Change 3-Year Change Y/Y 2018 2019 2020 2018 37% 27% 23% 44% 35% 19% 11% 2020* 31% 25% 20% 45% 31% 17% 11% Change -1 -3 -6 -3 -4 -3 -3 MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS -13.9% -3.8% -16.7% 2.3% -8.8% -5.6% 10.0% -6.0% -2.0% -3.0% 1.0% -4.0% -2.0% 0.00% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS 52 46 50 50 53 49 45 52 45 52 50 53 49 43 51 42 46 47 49 46 40 Gender of Fans 2018 2019 2020 Male 57% 60% 63% 55% 59% 65% 63% Female 43% 40% 37% 45% 41% 35% 37% Male 59% 60% 64% 55% 59% 65% 63% Female 41% 40% 36% 45% 41% 35% 37% Male 63% 63% 68% 57% 64% 68% 69% Female 37% 37% 32% 43% 36% 32% 31% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS 4

SPORTS FANS AND CHANGING STREAMING HABITS Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. % of fans streaming in past 12 months 2018 2019 2020 Computer /Mobile 13% 14% 14% 12% 11% 12% 16% Computer /Mobile 13% 12% 12% 10% 9% 10% 12% Computer /Mobile 21% 30% 25% 25% 23% 23% 31% Total TV Total TV Total TV MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS 20% 22% 22% 20% 19% 19% 25% 13% 15% 14% 14% 13% 13% 18% 22% 23% 21% 20% 19% 17% 24% 14% 15% 12% 14% 12% 11% 15% 34% 43% 40% 38% 36% 35% 46% 24% 29% 29% 27% 26% 24% 35% % of streamers live-streaming multi-channel service (Hulu, YouTube TV, etc.) % of streamers who added channels/services since March 2020 2020 57% 59% 60% 57% 59% 67% 69% 2020 41% 46% 43% 38% 39% 44% 54% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS 5

FANTASY SPORTS ENGAGEMENT Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. 2018 2019 2020 Trendline % of fans participating in fantasy sports in past 12 months MLB 9% 7% 12% NBA 13% 10% 19% College Basketball 9% 4% 12% NFL 17% 16% 22% College Football 8% 5% 11% NHL 9% 6% 12% MLS 11% 7% 18% 6

SPORTS GAMBLING AT-A-GLANCE Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. % of fans betting on the specific sport in past 12 months % of fans betting on sporting events/games overall in past 12 months % of fantasy players of the specific sport betting on sporting events/games overall in past 12 months 2020 8% 12% 10% 12% 9% 9% 10% 2020 17% 21% 22% 16% 18% 24% 26% 2020 58% 53% 60% 44% 54% 62% 64% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS % of fantasy players of the specific sport betting on the sport in past 12 months % of gamblers who increased spending on sports gambling since March 2020 2020 40% 38% 34% 36% 35% 33% 40% 2020 36% 39% 36% 37% 35% 37% 48% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS 7

SPORTS GAMBLING AT-A-GLANCE Gambled/placed bets on specific sport in past 12 months Total Sports Gamblers Baseball MLB Basketball NBA Basketball College eSports Football NFL Football College Golf Hockey NHL Soccer MLS Soccer Non-USA Total gambled/placed bets on specific sport in past 12 months 22,182 100.0 3,117 14.0 100 6,752 30.4 100 8,436 38.0 100 5,286 23.8 100 3,673 16.6 100 15,219 68.6 100 8,058 36.3 100 3,305 14.9 100 4,194 18.9 100 2,898 13.1 100 4,017 18.1 100 6,752 100.0 1,321 19.6 139 6,752 100.0 329 3,105 46.0 121 2,497 37.0 155 1,295 19.2 116 4,845 71.8 105 3,214 47.6 131 1,686 25.0 168 2,317 34.3 182 1,316 19.5 149 1,548 22.9 127 8,436 100.0 1,546 18.3 130 3,105 36.8 121 8,436 100.0 263 3,385 40.1 168 2,227 26.4 159 6,472 76.7 112 4,019 47.6 131 1,829 21.7 145 2,134 25.3 134 1,614 19.1 146 1,945 23.1 127 5,286 100.0 1,183 22.4 159 2,497 47.2 155 3,385 64.0 168 5,286 100.0 420 1,175 22.2 134 4,035 76.3 111 3,733 70.6 194 1,281 24.2 163 1,442 27.3 144 1,040 19.7 151 1,538 29.1 161 3,673 100.0 1,024 27.9 198 1,295 35.3 116 2,227 60.6 159 1,175 32.0 134 3,673 100.0 604 2,083 56.7 83 1,408 38.3 106 855 23.3 156 925 25.2 133 1,115 30.4 232 1,377 37.5 207 15,219 100.0 1,986 13.0 8,058 100.0 1,413 17.5 125 3,214 39.9 131 4,019 49.9 131 3,733 46.3 194 1,408 17.5 106 6,528 81.0 118 8,058 100.0 275 1,766 21.9 147 2,034 25.2 134 1,192 14.8 113 1,472 18.3 101 3,305 100.0 1,067 32.3 230 1,686 51.0 168 1,829 55.3 145 1,281 38.8 163 855 25.9 156 2,407 72.8 106 1,766 53.4 147 3,305 100.0 671 1,641 49.7 263 655 19.8 152 1,162 35.2 194 4,194 100.0 1,082 25.8 184 2,317 55.3 182 2,134 50.9 134 1,442 34.4 144 925 22.1 133 3,090 73.7 107 2,034 48.5 134 1,641 39.1 263 4,194 100.0 529 1,218 29.0 222 1,561 37.2 206 2,898 100.0 739 25.5 181 1,316 45.4 149 1,614 55.7 146 1,040 35.9 151 1,115 38.5 232 1,660 57.3 83 1,192 41.1 113 655 22.6 152 1,218 42.0 222 2,898 100.0 765 1,590 54.8 303 4,017 100.0 983 24.5 174 1,548 38.5 127 1,945 48.4 127 1,538 38.3 161 1,377 34.3 207 1,985 49.4 72 1,472 36.6 101 1,162 28.9 194 1,561 38.9 206 1,590 39.6 303 4,017 100.0 552 Auto Racing: NASCAR Monster Energy Cup/Xfinity Series 93 4,845 31.8 105 6,472 42.5 112 4,035 26.5 111 2,083 13.7 83 15,219 100.0 146 6,528 42.9 118 2,407 15.8 106 3,090 20.3 107 1,660 10.9 Baseball: MLB Basketball: NBA Basketball: College eSports Football: NFL Football: College Golf Hockey: NHL Soccer: MLS 83 1,985 13.0 72 Soccer: Non-USA 8 Note: The Market Segment Index (in red) represents the relationship between the percentage of fans in the segment and the percentage of fans in the Total column. It is calculated by dividing the vertical percent in the current column by the vertical percent in the Total column and multiplying the result by 100.

SPORTS GAMBLING AT-A-GLANCE Report is done by Generations" Gambled/placed bets on specific sport in past 12 months Total Sports Gamblers 13-23 Gen Z 24-39 Millenials 40-55 Gen X 56-74 Boomers Total gambled/placed bets on specific sport in past 12 months 22,182 100.0 3,117 14.0 100 6,752 30.4 100 8,436 38.0 100 5,286 23.8 100 3,673 16.6 100 15,219 68.6 100 8,058 36.3 100 3,305 14.9 100 4,194 18.9 100 2,898 13.1 100 4,017 18.1 100 3,315 14.9 100 2,131 100.0 128 6.0 43 550 25.8 85 924 43.3 114 446 20.9 88 484 22.7 137 1,201 56.4 82 573 26.9 74 56 2.6 18 108 5.1 27 239 11.2 86 296 13.9 77 137 6.4 43 10,212 100.0 1,622 15.9 113 3,062 30.0 6,357 100.0 977 15.4 109 2,151 33.8 111 2,312 36.4 96 1,893 29.8 125 1,013 15.9 96 4,796 75.4 110 2,609 41.0 113 1,389 21.8 147 1,091 17.2 91 728 11.4 88 1,547 24.3 134 1,140 17.9 120 2,935 100.0 390 13.3 95 971 33.1 109 864 29.4 77 595 20.3 85 72 2.4 15 2,244 76.5 111 1,405 47.9 132 251 8.6 57 594 20.2 107 87 3.0 23 292 9.9 55 164 5.6 37 Auto Racing: NASCAR Monster Energy Cup/Xfinity Series Baseball: MLB 98 Basketball: NBA 4,336 42.5 112 2,301 22.5 95 2,104 20.6 124 6,626 64.9 95 3,236 31.7 87 1,591 15.6 105 2,367 23.2 123 1,845 18.1 138 1,882 18.4 102 1,874 18.3 123 Basketball: College eSports Football: NFL Football: College Golf Hockey: NHL Soccer: MLS Soccer: Non-USA Tennis Note: The Market Segment Index (in red) represents the relationship between the percentage of fans in the segment and the percentage of fans in the Total column. It is calculated by dividing the vertical percent in the current column by the vertical percent in the Total column and multiplying the result by 100. 9

SPORTS FAN SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT % of fans using social media platform in past 12 months 100% 100% 100% 50% 50% 50% TWITTER SNAPCHAT FACEBOOK 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 100% 50% 50% 50% INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE TIKTOK 0% 0% 0% 10 2018 2019 2020

SPORTS FAN SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT % of fans following/viewing content from players, coaches, teams, leagues, writers, broadcasters or bloggers for that sport on social media in past 12 months 2020 33% 36% 32% 37% 34% 32% 35% 2019 30% 33% 29% 31% 30% 29% 30% 2020 44% 50% 47% 46% 43% 46% 51% 2020 17% 21% 20% 17% 17% 19% 21% 2019 17% 21% 18% 16% 14% 18% 20% 2020 27% 35% 32% 27% 28% 32% 38% 2020 8% 14% 11% 10% 9% 9% 15% 2019 7% 10% 7% 7% 6% 6% 10% 2020 11% 17% 16% 13% 14% 15% 20% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS TWITTER SNAPCHAT FACEBOOK 2020 14% 22% 18% 16% 15% 15% 23% 2019 14% 21% 15% 15% 13% 14% 21% 2020 24% 35% 29% 28% 26% 28% 37% 2020 27% 37% 31% 31% 29% 29% 36% 2019 26% 31% 25% 26% 22% 24% 30% 2020 34% 48% 40% 39% 36% 39% 48% 2020 14% 22% 18% 16% 15% 15% 23% 2019 14% 21% 15% 15% 13% 14% 21% 2020 24% 35% 29% 28% 26% 28% 37% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE TIKTOK 11

SPORTS FANS TURN THEIR ATTENTION TO E-SPORTS Top 3 categories of games watched for esports fans in past 12 months (2020) 1. First-person shooters (e.g. Call of Duty, Fortnite, Halo, Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Doom, Quake, etc.) 2. Fighting games (e.g. Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., Marvel vs. Capcom, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Rainbow Six Siege, Battlefield, etc.) 3. Sports games (e.g. FIFA, Madden, NBA 2K, Pro Evolution Soccer, Rocket League, etc.) % of fans participated/attended/watched esports in past 12 months Effect on traditional sports Watched traditional sports... 2018 2019 2020 2018 12% 17% 18% 12% 12% 17% 25% 2019 9% 13% 11% 9% 8% 10% 19% 2020* 17% 25% 21% 17% 18% 22% 34% MLB NBA College Basketball NFL College Football NHL MLS More often 20% 17% 10% About the same 64% 68% 64% Less often 16% 15% 26% * Attendance not asked in 2020 due to COVID-19 12

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - 1 Prologue In Q4 of 2020, SBRnet engaged Irwin Broh and Associates to conduct it s annual study of Sports Fandom here in the USA. For the past 10 years, SBRnet has asked consumers, 13 years and older about their level of fandom, engagement and interaction with their favorite professional leagues and teams together with college and minor league sports. In this year s version of the study, we made a decision to replace the section on live attendance at games and expand our understanding of: Sports Gambling, Fantasy Sports, E-Sports, Social Media Interaction and use of Streaming media. In 2020, the game has changed, and SBRnet gives you the new outlook and data benchmarks we all need to better plan and understand the future. This report titled, Sports Fandom in a Post Pandemic World , is a summary of just some of the findings from this comprehensive market research study. The challenges of 2020 have not spared any aspects of college and professional sports and what we looked at in terms of data from the past will no longer be the predictor of what we might be able to expect in the future. Sports Fandom Fan interest in College and Professional sports is a mixed bag. Those sports that were able to maintain an abbreviated regular and post- season faired the best in retaining the bulk of their fans. As an example, the NCAA totally cancelled their yearly celebration of College Basketball March Madness, aka NCAA Basketball Tournament saw a one-year decline just south of 17%, coming off a positive 1% gain from 2018-2019. On the positive side, the NFL that played the bulk of their regular season and conducted its playoff saw a 2.3% y/y increase in overall fan interest. Most sports are showing a younger movement for their median age of their fans which may serve as a positive sign in the future. Streaming Media Habits While there is no question that the growth of streaming media options has been good for sports in general, the situation created by the pandemic accelerated this trend. One of the key data points that stands out are the number of fans that used their smart TV s as their streaming device of choice. While usage rates have increased for all mobile devices people on lockdown gravitated to their TV s. The NHL and MLS enjoyed the biggest increase in streaming activity. 13

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -2 Fantasy Sports Engagement Across the board, sports fans have shown a significant increase in participating in Fantasy Sports during the pandemic. This has reversed a downward trend in fantasy sports engagement and use. The Future of Sports Gambling No single topic has drawn more attention in 2021 than Gambling on Sports. Currently 19 States and the District of Columbia have approved betting on sports, an additional six states have approved gambling on sports but ate not yet operational. Another five states have filed the appropriate paperwork with their state legislatures and should be operational by the end of 2021. That leaves another 20 states without any sort of state sanctioned sports gambling. In spite of that some of the smaller or less popular sports like Ice Hockey and MLS took the place of some of the more popular sports when it comes to gambling on sports. It also appears that Sports Gambling might have a generational program as younger, Gen Z sports fans are not as inclined to gamble on sports. It might be a problem of education and bad messaging. Social Media Usage All social media platforms with the exception of YouTube benefitted from sports fans being on lockdown for the better part of 2020. Twitter and Instagram were the biggest winners, reversing a trend coming out of 2018 with sports fans. Who s Watching E-Sports During the great pandemic of 2020, we saw a huge jump in people moving away from watching their favorite traditional college and professional sports and move more towards watching E-Sports. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, Fortnite and Overwatch continue to lead the pack for these fans. Games focused on Sports like FIFA Soccer, Madden and NBA 2K are fan favorites. Who s Watching E-Sports During the great pandemic of 2020, we saw a huge jump in people moving away from watching their favorite traditional college and professional sports and move more towards watching E-Sports. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, Fortnite and Overwatch continue to lead the pack for these fans. Games focused on Sports like FIFA Soccer, Madden and NBA 2K are fan favorites. 14

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- 3 Epilogue Looking backwards to get a handle on what will happen in the future with respect to sports fandom and related categories is no longer an option. The pandemic of 2020 has erased what we all knew and now means we need to start looking at the present, to get any sort of an idea on the future. The data and insights presented in this report are just the tip on the iceberg when it comes to the level of data granularity. Much of the data is available via the Sports Market Analytics Data Platform powered by SBRnet. Acknowledgements Thank you to everyone that contributed to the 2021 Annual Sports Fan Study and this summary report from SBRnet. A special thanks goes out to Raleigh Sawyer from Irwin Broh and Associates for her help in creating the data tables and data charts used in this report along with our graphics team. 15

SURVEY METHODOLOGY This consumer survey was conducted online for SBRnet by Irwin Broh in December 2020 among a representative panel of U.S. consumers age 13 or older. A total of 3,475 respondents completed the survey. Each respondent reported on their viewership of specific professional and college sports during the previous 12 months. In addition, respondents also reported their participation in fantasy sports, gambling and eSports, usage of the most popular social media platforms, favorite sports teams, and demographics. The data is weighted to represent the demographic composition of U.S. households on the following characteristics: geographic region, income, household size, age, gender, race and ethnicity. The data is also weighted to the U.S. population of 276.0 million individuals age 13 or older. All Data based on the following definition Attended or watched games/matches/ra ces in the past 12 months for any of the following sports Auto Racing: Indy Car Auto Racing: NASCAR Monster Energy Cup/Xfinity Series Baseball: MLB Baseball: Minor League Basketball: NBA Basketball: College eSports Football: NFL Football: College Hockey: Minor League Golf Hockey: NHL Mixed Martial Arts Soccer: MLS Soccer: Non-USA Tennis 16

FOR MORE INFORMATION Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. SBRnet, Inc Neil Schwartz: neil@sbrnet.com Mark Sullivan: mark@sbrnet.com www.sbrnet.com 561.990-5590 SBRnet, Inc Sports Market Analytics Consumer Brand Analytics Report Price: $499.00