Leading Brands in Japan's Sports Entertainment Category in Q1 2025

Introduction

The sports entertainment industry in Japan has experienced significant growth and transformation in recent months, with several key players at the forefront. In this article, we analyze the performance of three prominent brands: DAZN Group, Net Dreamers Co., Ltd., and J SPORTS Corporation. Drawing on comprehensive data from Sensor Tower, we explore trends in audience engagement, app usage, and advertising strategies from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025.

DAZN Group

DAZN Group has established itself as a powerhouse in the sports streaming arena with its website, dazn.com, and its app, DAZN: Stream Live Sports.

• Monthly Audience Trends: The monthly deduplicated audience for DAZN remained robust, surpassing 4.7M in March 2025. The website consistently drew more visitors compared to the app, with peak website visits reaching over 58M in March.

• Monthly App Engagement: The app experienced fluctuating monthly active user numbers, with a noticeable increase from 181K in January to approximately 377K in March. This indicates a growing interest in mobile platforms.

• Monthly Ad Spend & Channels: DAZN's monthly advertising spend surged, particularly in March, where it exceeded $77K, with significant impressions on platforms like YouTube and Instagram.

Net Dreamers Co., Ltd.

Net Dreamers Co., Ltd. operates the popular website netkeiba.com and the app netkeiba ネットケイバ.

• Monthly Audience Trends: The website's unique monthly visits remained stable, consistently attracting over 790K visitors in March. The site continued to dominate over the app in terms of audience size.

• Monthly App Engagement: The app maintained a steady monthly active user base, hovering around 370K in March, reflecting stable mobile user engagement.

• Monthly Ad Spend & Channels: Advertising efforts showed a decrease in monthly spend, with March figures below $3.5K, primarily focused on Instagram and X platforms.

J SPORTS Corporation

J SPORTS Corporation, through its website jsports.co.jp and the app J SPORTS オンデマンド, continues to engage sports enthusiasts.

• Monthly Audience Trends: Unique monthly visits to jsports.co.jp saw a notable increase in March, reaching over 640K. The website's audience remained larger than the app's.

• Monthly App Engagement: The app's monthly active users grew steadily, surpassing 213K in March, indicating healthy engagement with its mobile offerings.

• Monthly Ad Spend & Channels: J SPORTS increased its monthly ad spend in March to over $25K, with a strong presence on Facebook and Instagram, resulting in substantial impressions.

Conclusion

As highlighted by Sensor Tower's extensive data, DAZN Group, Net Dreamers Co., Ltd., and J SPORTS Corporation are leading the charge in Japan's sports entertainment sector. Each brand demonstrates unique strengths across web and mobile platforms, supported by strategic advertising efforts. Sensor Tower's unparalleled insights provide a comprehensive view of these trends, offering critical understanding into cross-platform user behavior. By leveraging Sensor Tower's data, decision-makers can gain unique advantages in strategic planning and execution. For more information on our analytics capabilities, explore our Sensor Tower products and services.