Adaptability in Action - Nielsen Sports SA Sparks Industry Conversation on Evolving Fan Behaviour and Strategic Value

Nielsen Sports SA hosted the latest edition of its Annual Trends Breakfast at the Bryanston Country Club in Johannesburg. Key stakeholders from across the sports, media and sponsorship landscapes gathered for a dynamic session themed “The Edge of Adaptability: Rethinking Sport, Sponsorship and Strategy”. The event uniquely focused on the evolving demands placed on brands, rights holders and content creators as fan behaviour continues to shift rapidly, and often unpredictably.

Amy Daley, Chief Operating Officer of Nielsen Sports SA, opened the session, highlighting the ongoing metamorphosis in South African fans’ sports consumption. Nielsen Sports SA Managing Director, Tumelo Selikane, followed, emphasising the power of smart data and strategic agility. “In an environment defined by disruption, our goal is to help partners adapt — intelligently and quickly — by anchoring decisions in trusted data,” he said.

This year’s event showcased Nielsen’s unique Quality Index (QI) methodology, offered as the most effective measurement tool in terms of sport sponsorship. Unlike Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE), QI provides the most accurate and true media value, particularly within a highly clutered media environment with multiple brands concurrently visible.  

“QI effectively and successfully measures sponsorship and brand exposure value with greater accuracy than AVE, resulting in more informed strategic sponsorship decisions. This results in better ROI,” notes Selikane.         

“Unlike legacy models that estimate exposure value based on media rate cards, QI combines AI-powered media tracking, image recognition and research-led weightings to deliver a more accurate, consistent and future-facing valuation model. Adaptability of top rights in an evolving sports ecosystem is critical to maintain brand leadership. Organisations that solely employ AVE to measure sponsorship success should reconsider the strategic and data based decisions upon which investments are based.”

Annalie Watt, Nielsen Sport Strategic Director presented highlights from the Nielsen Fan Insights SA March 2025 Report - Nielsen Sports’ specialist tracking service that enables the monitoring of sports and sponsorship trends and developments, including the measurement of fan avidity toward sporting disciplines, sporting events, and lifestyle activities. Nielsen Sports uses historical fan data to make forecasts on effective sponsorship using a secure Google large language model (LLM). Among other developments in the sports media landscape, the Fan Insights Report reveals:

• Watching sport on TV and streaming services remains a top 2-tier lifestyle activity among all NFI SA respondents. Additionally, listening to podcasts has shown incredible growth, having moved up from a top 5-tier lifestyle activity in 2024 to top 3-tier in 2025.
• AI usage has surged to achieve a top-2 rating of 60% amongst all NFI SA respondents, with those interested in AI showing significantly higher engagement across emerging sports like cycling, padel and horseracing.
• Live consumption continues to dominate, with over 75% of fans reporting they still watch sports in real time via TV or streaming.
• TikTok’s rise as a platform for sports consumption is particularly striking, as it is now used by 75% of surveyed fans, up from just 43% in 2022.

The panel discussion that followed was moderated by Selikane and featured Ryan Cumming, Supersport Head of Marketing; Mtunzi Jones, Cricket South Africa Chief Commercial Officer; Errol Madlala, SA Football Association Commercial and Marketing Manager; and Bronson Mokabela, SASCOC General Manager: Marketing and Communications. The insightful discussion was grounded in pragmatism and vision, challenging the industry to reframe adaptability as a response to pressure and a competitive edge. Attendees were urged to rethink how sponsorship rights are selected, valued and activated in a fragmented media environment, and to focus on what fans really want, based on specific consumption habits.

Selikane concluded, “Adaptability isn’t a reaction; it’s a responsibility. And it starts with knowing exactly where your audience is, what they care about and how to meet them there in real time. Nielsen Sports is a reliable service provider that the sports Industry can count on for data that delivers results.”

To explore the insights presented at the breakfast event or to learn more about the QI methodology, contact Nielsen Sports South Africa.