U.S. Consumers Contribute 40% of Sports App Spending, Which Grew 85% Last Quarter

The United States is the largest driver of worldwide Sports app revenue, accounting for greater than 40 percent of revenue on the App Store and Google Play. U.S. revenue increased by 85 percent
 year-over-year on the App Store and 75 percent on Google Play for Q1 2019. Read more below about the countries with the highest revenue from Sports apps and our revenue forecasts for the Sports category through 2023. App revenue estimates are from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform.

Top Countries by Revenue for the App Store and Google Play Store in Q1 2018 vs. Q1 2019

Revenue continued to grow in the U.S. App Store Sports category Y/Y in 1Q19, reaching a net total of $26.2 million. We show growth in Q1 because download and revenue totals in Q2 2018 were unusually high due to the 2018 World Cup. Japan’s 81 percent Y/Y growth was also higher than the worldwide rate of 60 percent in 1Q19. Net revenue in Germany more than doubled to $2.2 million making it the fifth highest spending country for the quarter.

Italy’s Sports revenue growth of more than 1,500 percent in 1Q19 was driven by the release of DAZN. DAZN accounted for more than 90 percent of the category's revenue in Italy that quarter and only mobile games Brawl Stars and Candy Crush Saga earned more in Italy during the quarter. DAZN was also responsible for most of the Sports revenue growth in Germany, and earned nearly 70 percent of the total Google Play Sports revenue in Germany. Excluding DAZN, Sports app revenue grew 99 percent Y/Y in Germany.

Worldwide Revenue Forecast for the Sports Category by App Store

Revenue growth for Sports apps will remain strong on both platforms. We project App Store net revenue to reach $520 million by 2023, representing 23 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Google Play net revenue will reach $151 million by 2023, or a CAGR of 22 percent. Despite slowing download growth, Sports app revenue will remain highest in North America. App Store net revenue across both stores will reach $304 million in North America by 2023 based on our projections.

Interested in seeing additional sports apps insights? Download a free copy of our State of Sports Apps report below:

Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence platform is an Enterprise level offering. Store Intelligence users can see app revenue estimates for the above apps in addition to historical performance metrics on the Sensor Tower platform. Our revenue estimates are from the App Store and Google Play worldwide between January 1, 2015 and June 31, 2019, and include daily net revenue totals. We report revenue earned by the publishers (excluding the cut for Apple and Google). Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.