Morning, afternoon and evening everyone. Welcome to Edition #81 of The SEG3 Report!

8 weeks. That’s all that’s left before SEG3 lands back in LA this December 9 & 10. SEGA, Lionsgate, Bandai Namco, Crunchyroll, Ledger, PlayStation (and plenty more) are already on the list.

As a reader, you’ve got 20% off passes guaranteed. Grab yours and be part of the conversation this December.

Back to it, and today’s spotlighted piece looks at Meta’s Sports Consumer Research, and what behaviours are driving engagement from their consumer base across their portfolio of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and more.

Also covered: Netflix’s plans to make their subscriptions stickier with the launch of co-op party games + how Google is being integrated into the LA28 fan and broadcast experiences.

Let’s dive in:

Contents: Edition #81

• Meta’s Sports Consumer Research 2025

• Netflix launch first TV party games with Tetris, LEGO & more

• Google, Team USA, NBCUniversal & LA28 team up to deliver interactive experiences

Meta’s Sports Consumer Research 2025 finds…

Meta has published new sports consumer research examining how people engage with sports culture in 2025. The report outlines trends in fan behaviour and participation, with insights on how brands and organisations can approach sports audiences on their platforms.

TL;DR:

• Sports fandom is not passive, it is participatory, with fan culture around the game just as important as the game itself.

• 64% of fans on Meta identify as “superfans”.

• 96% of fans use Meta platforms before, during and after live events.

• 46% of sports activity happens outside game time, with a quarter of that purely non-game content (memes, fan edits etc).

• 83% of fans are choosing Meta for highlights, and to see athlete posts and fan UGC.

• 89% of fans act after seeing sports content; from clicking links to buying merch, tickets or services.

Who knew September & October was prime time for reports?!

This time, it’s Meta’s recent release on global fandom across their portfolio of platforms, and how they’re helping to shape digital sports experiences before, during and after the game.

So, what is driving conversation on their platforms? Where’s that conversation happening and what’s the fan journey? How are brands and advertisers being plugged into that conversation? What are fans purchasing, and how are algorithms powering discovery of products and brands?

Well, luckily there’s some data for that:

Finding 1 – Superfans are running the show
64% of fans on Meta call themselves “superfans” (that’s a ranking of 8 or up out of 10!).

These are the folks that are not just watching the game, but taking the time to build the culture around your brand/IP. Creating the memes, the edits, the podcasts etc. But what content is helping to influence sports fandom the most? ⤵️

Our two-cents: Official channels matter (there is appetite for full-game replays, 55%, and team-to-team interactions, 48%, etc), but much of the content driving influence on Meta’s platforms is UGC, so the question needs to be “how can I put content or stories in the hands of our fans or talent, and quickly?”.

Speed of content clipping x speed of distribution to fans and talent = a sustained and amplified conversation that brings cultural relevance.

Use your superfans and talent as your distribution engine!

Finding 2 – Fandom extends into all parts of life
96% of fans are on Meta before, during and after games (I would hazard a guess that a large percentage of this stems from whatsapp use), but still, with nearly half of all sports engagement happening outside of match time, it’s clear data that there needs to be a sustained strategy away from the stadium to keep your fanbase supplied with content and experiences.

Our two cents: If your whole strategy is built around match day, you’re missing most of the action. This is backed up by the Fandom & Carat report we covered in last week’s edition, where they found 75% say fan culture is as fun as the content itself.

Whether it’s short clips, shareable graphics, behind-the-scenes moments - keep feeding the conversation, and fans will take care of the rest.

Finding 3 – Turning fandom into action & purchasing
89% of fans take action after seeing sports content on Meta; whether that’s buying tickets, grabbing merch or clicking on sponsor links. And the audience isn’t just passive scrollers; the average Meta sports fan follows 7.6 different sports (which is a lot!), with 86% being the main decision-makers for purchases in their home, and 42% being parents of children under 18.

Our two cents: In short, Facebook still has a firm grip on Gen X, Whatsapp is the go-to messenger for much of the globe and Instagram is Gen Z & A’s storyboard, so Meta is ingrained, and still has incredible range and influence to different generations, many of whom have significant spending power.

So the opportunity for many sports brands isn’t necessarily about growing audience on these platforms - most leagues, teams and brands already have enormous followings.

It’s now about activating them.

Why should you care?

The strategic challenge isn’t “should we use Meta”; fans answered that a long time ago. You’re already there, and so are they.

Sports’ critical challenge now is working out the balance between what you syndicate to third-party platforms like Meta where fans are spending time, and what you keep for your owned channels?

Go too heavy on Meta (or any third-party platform for that matter), and you risk someone else’s ecosystem capturing the value of your audiences fandom; hold too much back and you’re not going to be part of the conversation or mainstream psyche.

Closing Thoughts

It’s a tightrope every rights holder and brand now has to walk now, and it’s going to take a careful balance between using social platforms for distribution and fan engagement, whilst also knowing when the right time is to pull fans into your owned spaces to deepen loyalty or convert.

Netflix launch first TV party games with Tetris, LEGO & more

Netflix is expanding its gaming strategy with the launch of TV-based party games that can be played using phones as controllers. The initial line-up includes LEGO Party!, Boggle Party, Pictionary: Game Night, Tetris Time Warp, and Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends, marking Netflix’s move from mobile into living room gaming as part of its broader push into multiplayer and IP-based titles.

TL;DR:

• Netflix is adding party games (LEGO, Tetris, Pictionary) to capture “family time” in the traditional TV prime-time slot (5-10PM).

• Livewire study shows 74% of families game together regularly, cutting traditional TV time by 40%.

• Gaming delivers what TV can’t: multiple generations, fully engaged, no second-screen distraction (83% of parents agree).

• For advertisers: gaming offers new inventory and high-trust brand integration opportunities (96% of parents open to in-game ads if natural).

• For Netflix: this is a retention play; extending time on-platform, reducing churn and embedding themselves even deeper into family social routines.

Off the back of the NHL announcing a partnership with Nex Playground, this is yet another move towards family, TV-first gaming. This time, from the entertainment behemoth, Netflix.

Why should you care?

Netflix wants to capture more ‘together time’. Livewire’s “Prime Time Is the New Game Time” study found that 74% of families now game together regularly, often between 5–10 PM, which is of course the traditional window that TV used to own.

In order to capture more attention of audiences, and to keep subscribers on their platform for longer, gaming simply had to become part of the menu. And considering 83% of parents say there are no second-screen distractions during family gaming, compared to constant phone use during TV, it’s a powerful tool that Netflix can now use as part of their arsenal to give better results to their advertising partners too.

So, what’s the opportunity for advertisers, or platforms like Netflix?

For advertisers, gaming is delivering what TV used to promise but can’t anymore - multiple generations in one place, fully engaged with the same thing. Netflix now has more inventory to sell, not just through shows and films, but through shared family play. And crucially, 96% of parents say they’re open to brand integrations in games provided they feel natural.

And if you’re Netflix (or a platform like Netflix), integrating games is all about retention. Party games extend time spent on-platform, reduce churn and hopefully make Netflix an even greater part of the family evening ritual. And by leaning on well-known, cross-generation IP like LEGO, Tetris and Pictionary, and making it mobile accessible, they’ve lowered the barrier to entry and broadened the appeal of the platform considerably to many different age-groups.

Closing Thoughts

Given co-playing families have cut traditional TV time by 40%, the old media playbook for reaching households at scale just isn’t working anymore. And that’s a challenge for media buyers. They need engaged eyeballs, and that’s where gaming can fill the void.

So, if the “family hearth” is no longer TV, will families now argue about what to play rather than what to watch?!

Either way, gaming’s taken the prime-time slot, and I don’t see it relinquishing its crown anytime soon.

Google, Team USA, NBCUniversal & LA28 team up to deliver interactive experiences

Google has signed a multi-year partnership with LA28, Team USA, and NBCUniversal to power more personal and interactive Olympic experiences in the U.S. Google Search, Gemini and Google Cloud will support NBCUniversal’s coverage, deliver AI-driven fan features, and provide analytics for Team USA’s training. Google Cloud will serve as the official cloud provider for the LA28 Games, while YouTube will host additional Games-related content.

TL;DR:

• Google has signed on as a founding partner for LA28, and also collaborating with Team USA & NBCUniversal.

• Integrations include: Google Cloud (athlete data & performance), Search & Gemini (personalised fan content), and YouTube (expanded Games coverage).

• They’re the latest tech business to embed themselves into sport (IBM × Wimbledon, Microsoft × Premier League, OpenAI × Spurs, AWS x NBA, Salesforce × IOC).

• For sports IP looking to engage tech businesses; partnerships around integration and use cases that improve fan experience and monetisation are what get attention.

The Olympics has always been a hub for major global brands - but LA28, likely be the most commercial Games to date, is proving to be an opportunity too difficult to turn down for a lot of the major US brands. This time, tech giant Google, who have become a founding partner, have partnered up with Team USA, LA28 & NBCUniversal to put their platforms and products at the centre of the broadcast and fan experience in just over 2 years time.

Google will be integrating:

• Google Cloud with Team USA - analysing training and performance data.

• Search and Gemini for fans - surfacing personalised content and info for attendees and viewers.

• YouTube for viewers - furthering distribution of Games content alongside NBC’s coverage.

Why should you care?

The sheer volume of data that Google will be able to process, and train Gemini on through this partnership, is likely worth the sponsorship cheque alone.

And although this isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, we’re seeing a real focus from tech businesses to make sure that any sponsorship of theirs integrates their technology into powering innovation and improved fan experiences.

Whether that be IBM with Wimbledon, Microsoft with the Premier League, OpenAI with the San Antonio Spurs, AWS with NBA, Salesforce with the IOC; they’re being woven into the infrastructure of sports organisations. And once you’re embedded, you’re very hard to part with (without a great deal of upheaval!), even if the sponsorship ends.

So, what’s there to learn?

For partnership teams, start out with what problems you are trying to overcome, and get granular with what technologies or products can help you solve those challenges. Then try to build out a proposition that brings you three things:

A) the ability to deliver better digital experiences for your fans
B) new ways to monetise your assets and audience.
C) sponsorship dollars

In other words, sell integration and use cases. This is what gets tech businesses excited - not branding.

Closing Thoughts

LA28 is very likely to be the most technologically advanced Games to date, and has already started to build an incredible roster of partners.

In the lead up, it will be worth watching how Team USA leverage Google’s tech at Milano Cortina 2026, and what they take forward to deliver next-gen experiences for fans and viewers in LA.

In other news this week:

• City Football Group’s StickerBook Challenge Part 1 engages 9% of Roblox user base: read here.

• EA Sports partners with The Athletic for content partnership: read here.

• Sports Interactive partners with Hawkeye Innovations for skeletal volumetric data: read here.

• Sony acquires STATSports Group: read here.

• Amelia Dimoldenberg partners with Formula 1 for ‘Passenger Princess’ Youtube series: read here.

• Amazon Prime Video to broadcast PGA Tour’s ‘The Skins Game’: read here.

• FIFA facing probe from Swiss gambling regulator over tokenised ticket sales for 2026 World Cup: read here.

• Netflix reportedly set to bid on UEFA Champions League rights: read here.

• AC Milan & Socios extend partnership with digital activation program: read here.

• Sorare migrates blockchain from StarkEx to Solana: read here.

• Matchroom Sport and Riyadh Season partner for Boxing, Darts & Snooker events: read here.

• Newcastle United partner with VISA: read here.

• Red Bull release challenge in EA’s FC 26: read here.

• L’Oreal launch updated Paris Catwalk Simulator: read here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now everyone - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report, and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a colleague or friend!