Vividata Delves into Sports Fandom in Canada With Its Latest SCC/Sports & Esports Database

ABOUT SCC/SPORTS & ESPORTS

What Makes SCC/Sports & Esports The Must-Have Sports Consumer and Cross-Media Database in Canada

55+ Pro Sports Leagues
From the NHL, to the NFL, NBA, MLS, WBNA, and more, SCC/Sports & Esports includes variables around fandom and followership of over 55 professional men's and women's sports leagues operating in Canada and around the world. 

More Sports Betting
Featuring hundreds of new variables on sports betting, including recency and frequency of betting, amount placed per bet, and opinions on betting, SCC/Sports & Esports lets you pinpoint and connect with the Canadians willing to put their sports knowledge to the test.

60,000+ Consumer and Media Variables 
From demographics, to media consumption, product purchases, opinions and more, with 60,000+ SCC | Study of the Canadian Consumer variables included, no other database in Canada can help provide the in-depth sports consumer segments and audience profiles businesses need to deliver real results.

SAMPLE FINDINGS 1: FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

A New Generation of Soccer Fans are Looking to Witness World Cup Glory  

Nearly 8 million Canadians 18+ follow the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with nearly 1 in 3 under the age 35 and 3 in 5 under the age 50. 

While men 35 to 49 are the most likely to follow the Women’s World Cup (41% more likely than the average Canadian 18+) and are also the most likely to follow at least half of the games played (49% more likely), women under 35 show strong interest, with 27% of the segment catching at least the final match. 

As such a marquee global event, it’s no surprise that diverse Canadians show far more interest in following the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with Latin/South American, East Asian, and South Asian Canadians up to 50% more likely than average to tune in, and up to 3.5x more likely to follow the sport in a language other than English. 

While over half of FIFA Women’s World Cup followers get their soccer news, highlights, and scores from TV (51%), women followers under 35 are just as likely to get them from social media (both at 37% reach), with Instagram (57%), Facebook (41%), and TikTok (30%) being the top social media platforms they use to follow sports overall. 

69% of followers of the FIFA Women’s World Cup agree, “I would follow women’s sports more if it was better covered in the media”, reaching as high as 83% among women followers under 35. Also, up to 93% of young women followers agree “Women professional athletes should get paid as much as men”, 22 percentage points higher than the number of Canadians that agree overall.   

SAMPLE FINDINGS 2: CRICKET

Cricket is Finding Its Footing in Canada 

Nearly 3 million Canadian adults follow professional cricket leagues and associations like the ICC (International Cricket Council), MLC (Major League Cricket) or IPL (Indian Premier League).  

Of the Canadians who follow cricket, 44% identify as persons of colour (POC), with South Asian Canadians making up 36% of all POC cricket fans, making them nearly 3x more likely to follow cricket than the average Canadian. 

Followers of professional cricket like the sport’s competitive nature (29%) and enjoy watching or following the sport with family and friends (24%), while 1 in 5 (20%) say it’s a sport they grew up with. Betting is also a key motivator to follow cricket with over 1 in 10 (11%) saying they follow the sport “to earn money from betting”.   

83% of Canadians that watch cricket in a language other than English watch it in either Punjabi, Hindi, or Urdu, making these languages by far the most popular to watch the sport in.   

86% of cricket followers watch live professional sports online, whether through websites, social media, or apps (topping out at 92% of those who follow in other languages), and are 2.2x more likely to watch via pay-per-view or a subscription service than the average Canadian 18+.  

Of Canadian cricket fans that follow live professional sports online, 39% use Amazon Prime, 38% use YouTube TV, and 26% use ESPN+ to round out the top 3.  

In terms of other pro leagues cricket fans are into, the NBA grabs their attention most, with 74% of cricket fans following the NBA at least occasionally. Given the similarities between baseball and cricket, it’s no surprise that MLB is a close second, with 73% of cricket fans tuning into the world’s top baseball league.

SAMPLE FINDINGS 3: SPORTS BETTING

Sports Betting Hits Home with 8.3 Million Canadians

8.3 million Canadians 19+ placed a sports bet in the past year, with just over 1.3 million being frequent betters – betting at least a couple of times a week.  

Of the top major league sports, fans of the NBA are the most likely to have placed a bet in the past year (72% more likely than the average Canadian 19+), however, fans of fighting leagues like UFC, Bellator, or WBA are over 2x more likely to have placed a bet in the past year and up to 2.8x more likely to be frequent betters.  

Of those that placed sports bets online in the past year, 1.2 million or nearly 1 in 4 placed a bet on bet365, followed by ProLine+ (14%), FanDuel (12%), DraftKings (11%) and BetMGM (10%) to round out the top 5 sites.  However, among frequent betters, FanDuel is nearly as popular as bet365, reaching 24% of online betters wagering more than once per week, compared to the 25% that wager with bet365.  

MoneyLines (26%), Live Betting (24%), and Points Spreads (22%) are the most popular bet types among sports betters, while frequent betters prefer Live Betting (38%), Points Betting (37%) and Points Spreads (36%).  

81% of frequent sports betters agree “My knowledge on sports helps me win sports bets”, with Betting Sites/Apps (31%), Sports Talk/Podcasts (28%), and Sports Websites/Apps (27%) among the top resources they use for betting tips, info, and odds.