Leading Sports Entertainment Brands in Australia: Q4 2023 Analysis

Australia’s sports entertainment sector continues to thrive, with significant digital engagement across websites and apps. In Q4 2023, Kayo Sports, the Australian Football League (AFL), and the National Rugby League (NRL) emerged as leading brands. Let’s delve into their performance and trends.

Kayo Sports

Kayo Sports is a prominent player in sports streaming, offering a website and the Kayo Sports app.

• Audience Trends: From Q3 to Q4 2023, the website saw a gradual decline in unique visits, dropping from over 1.3M in September to just under 930K by December. The monthly deduplicated audience also decreased, with a noticeable dip from around 2.4M in October to approximately 1.8M in December.

• App Engagement: The app’s monthly active users mirrored this trend, decreasing from about 624K in September to around 523K by December, indicating a shift in user engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Kayo Sports’ advertising efforts peaked in October with a monthly spend exceeding $570K and impressions surpassing 132M, primarily driven by Facebook and Instagram. However, spend and impressions decreased significantly in November and December.

Australian Football League (AFL)

The AFL maintains a strong digital presence with afl.com.au and the AFL Live Official App.

• Audience Trends: The AFL website experienced a sharp decline in unique visits from 800K in September to under 200K by December. The monthly deduplicated audience followed a similar trajectory, falling from about 1.4M to roughly 430K in the same period.

• App Engagement: The AFL Live Official App saw monthly active users drop from over 900K in September to just under 300K by December, reflecting the off-season lull.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly advertising spend peaked in September at over $460K with impressions nearing 95M, before tapering off in subsequent months, focusing mainly on Facebook and Instagram.

National Rugby League (NRL)

NRL’s digital offerings include nrl.com and the NRL Official App.

• Audience Trends: The NRL website saw a reduction in unique visits from about 800K in September to around 200K in December. Monthly deduplicated audience numbers also dropped, from over 1M in September to roughly 300K by the year's end.

• App Engagement: The NRL Official App maintained a more stable monthly active user base, with active users slightly increasing from 214K in August to about 198K in December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly ad spend and impressions were highest in July, with spend exceeding $150K and impressions over 38M, mainly through Facebook and Instagram, but these numbers declined towards December.

Conclusion

The sports entertainment landscape in Australia shows dynamic trends across the digital platforms of Kayo Sports, AFL, and NRL. Sensor Tower’s comprehensive data insights, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, provide unparalleled visibility into these trends, allowing for a detailed understanding of cross-platform user behavior. As these brands continue to adapt, monitoring these insights will be crucial for future strategic planning. By leveraging Sensor Tower’s data, decision-makers can gain a competitive edge in navigating the evolving digital landscape.