GSIQ Insight

What did ten years as title sponsor of Suncorp Super Netball deliver for Suncorp? Consumer data shows measurable gains in brand love, trust, positive sentiment and banking customers among Super Netball fans, highlighting the long-term value of sustained sports sponsorship.

The latest Women’s Sport Trust Visibility Report, 'The Battle for Attention', with broadcast analysis from GSIQ, highlights record streaming levels, continued audience growth and new opportunities for women’s sport. Beyond the headline figures, five insights reveal what rightsholders and governing bodies can learn about attention, momentum, content strategy, athlete visibility and mixed-gender events.

GSIQ’s latest global research into the next generation of sports fans reveals how young people in the UK engage with sport both as participants and fans. Based on research across 11 international markets, the UK white paper explores sports participation, fandom drivers, media consumption habits, reasons for quitting sport, sponsorship perceptions and the future appetite for sport among 15–25-year-olds.

We asked 5,000 young people across 11 markets one big question: what will it take to make you a sports fan? Our first findings from the UK and U.S. reveal what drives fandom, where sports are successfully converting participants into fans, and what barriers prevent deeper engagement. The research explores the gap between casual fans and superfans, and highlights what young people say would make them more connected to sport in the years ahead.

Few things concentrate the mind of a sponsorship manager quite like a cancelled competition. Whether caused by extreme weather, geopolitical instability or, as seen in 2020, a global pandemic, the removal of an event from the calendar creates immediate commercial questions. As recent disruption linked to the Middle East has shown, the impact is not limited to the race itself. While Covid exposed the fragility of sponsorship models built around live spectacle, it also highlighted the value of content, community and digital infrastructure in maintaining sponsor value when events cannot take place

Ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, we assess how Rugby Australia’s current sponsors are performing among union fans. The data shows positive brand uplift for Bet365 and InterContinental within the rugby audience, alongside renewed partnership activity and a multi-year home tournament cycle that creates sustained commercial opportunity.

With the USA men qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, the next two years represent a critical growth window for rugby in the United States. While participation among young Americans remains low (3%), curiosity about the sport slightly exceeds current playing levels. Data shows that entertainment, community, identity and family tradition are key drivers of sports fandom among 15–25-year-olds — suggesting rugby’s growth opportunity may lie as much in fan development as grassroots participation.

Research among 15–25-year-old Americans shows that football converts fewer young people into players than basketball or soccer, yet remains one of the most effective sports at generating fandom without participation.

With the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup on the calendar, 2026 will be a defining year for sponsorship. From better measurement to sponsorship as a true platform, these are five trends set to shape the industry.

As ANZ extends its sponsorship of Tennis Australia towards 20 years, we look at what its long-standing relationship with the sport has delivered, using data on Australian tennis fans and their relationship with the brand.