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Consumer Insights
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150,000–200,000 interviews / year
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Across all sports
If you have fans, you have buyers.
Sports fans are buyers — in every sport. The ONE8Y Database conducts 150,000–200,000 interviews a year on fan purchasing behaviour, attitudes and sponsorship acceptance — across all sports, in multiple markets, updated weekly.
In media planning, sports fans are usually treated as an audience — groups of people who see something. What is systematically underestimated: they make purchase decisions based on their attachment to sports, clubs and athletes — and based on how they perceive sponsors.
interviews / year150–200KConsistent sample quality
FrequencyWeeklyNo annual snapshots
Data points5 m90% own research
Turnaround3–4 daysFieldwork → publication
01
Research depth
Not an annual study. A research platform.
No agency delivers sport-specific fan consumer insights weekly, for several sports in parallel and with this geographic breadth. The key figures of the data:
| Feature | ONE8Y Database |
|---|---|
| Interviews per year | 150,000–200,000 sports fan interviews |
| Research frequency | Weekly — no annual snapshots |
| Sports | Across all sports — professional football (DACH focus), winter sports, motorsport, more |
| Geographic coverage | Up to 70 international markets |
| Methodology | Online panel, representative by age, gender, region (census) |
| Total data points | 5 million primary data points |
| Own research share | 90% — no aggregated secondary sources |
| Turnaround fieldwork → publication | 3–4 days |
02
What is measured
The fan consumerdimensions.
The ONE8Y Database measures the same core dimensions across all sports — the purchase-relevant attitude and behaviour data that actually count for sponsorship decisions.
| Dimension | What exactly is measured | Relevance for sponsorship decision-makers |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing behaviour | Has the fan bought because of sponsorship? Which category? How often? | Proves sales impact — actual behaviour instead of theoretical potential. |
| Willingness to pay a premium | Does the fan pay more for sponsor brands than for non-sponsor alternatives? | Quantifies the price premium potential of a sponsorship investment. |
| Purchase preference | Is the club or sport sponsor preferred at equal value for money? | Measures the tie-breaker effect of sponsorship at the point of sale. |
| Image transfer | Likeability, trust, perceived brand fit. | Prerequisite for sales impact — no image transfer, no purchase impulse. |
| Sponsorship acceptance | Is the sponsorship perceived as authentic and value-compatible? | Authenticity is a must — without it, image transfer turns negative. |
| Advertising vs. sponsorship | How is sponsorship rated compared with classic advertising? | Proves the structural competitive advantage over media buying. |
| Risks of rejection | Does the fan actively avoid sponsors of rival clubs or sports? | Downside calculation for single-club or single-sport strategies. |
03
Fan segmentation
Not all fans buy the same way.
Within every sport, purchase intensity varies considerably — depending on depth of engagement, loyalty and demographic profile. Here is an example of empirically proven fan segments in German professional football.
01Fanatics / hardcore fans
Engagement profileClub/athlete first, several contacts a week, active in the community, deep emotional attachment.
Buyer profileHighest purchase intensity, strongest willingness to pay a premium, maximum image transfer to the sponsor.
Sales impact optimisation & loyalty
02Passionate
Engagement profileIntense but balanced, broad media use, often a club member or subscriber.
Buyer profileHigh, stable willingness to buy — the broadest and most predictable conversion group.
Core target group for classic sponsorship
03Sympathisers
Engagement profileFollow the sport without strong attachment to a club or athlete, consume results and highlights.
Buyer profileMedium willingness to buy, less image transfer per sponsor.
Reach segment for awareness
04Affine
Engagement profileOccasional interest, sport as a social topic.
Buyer profileLow sponsorship-driven willingness to buy, hardly any measurable sales effect.
Only for pure awareness goals
Practical consequence: The share of these four segments varies considerably between sports. Winter sports have an above-average share of passionate fans with high household income. Motorsport has a tech-savvy hardcore base. Football has the broadest mass base. The ONE8Y Database makes these differences visible by sport and every week.
04
Football as primary evidence
Fan Buying Power Report 2026.
The most comprehensive publicly available data on the purchasing behaviour of football fans in Germany (n=3,030, all three professional leagues) — an example of the impact mechanism that arises in every sport with high fan loyalty.
63 %bought because of sponsorshipProven purchasing behaviour, not potential.
71 %prefer the sponsorAt equal value for money.
55 %pay a premiumFor sponsor brands.
70 %open to preferring sponsorsActivation potential beyond realised effects.
77 %find sponsorship more acceptableThan classic advertising.
81 %expect shared valuesAuthenticity is structurally necessary.
81.4 %Multi-league fans buyThe strongest-buying subgroup (Bundesliga + 2. Bundesliga).
DACHFocus regionMethodology can be applied identically to other sports.
These figures are football data. The methodology behind them — weekly representative primary surveys on purchasing behaviour, attitudes and image transfer — is applied by the ONE8Y Database identically to other sports.
05
International dimension
Consumer insights in up to 70 markets.
Sports sponsorship is increasingly an international business. The purchasing-behaviour data for a robust ROI evaluation therefore have to be available internationally too.
70
markets internationally
The ONE8Y Database surveys in up to 70 international markets — with the same methodological consistency as in Germany. This enables comparisons across sports and countries that are indispensable for internationally active sponsors.
How does the willingness to buy of winter sports fans differ between Germany, Austria and Switzerland? How do motorsport fans in different markets react to the same sponsorship? The ONE8Y Database provides data-based answers.
150,000 interviews a year. New data every week. For every sport.
Hendrik Fischer
CEO ONE8Y
If you have fans, you have buyers. Do you know their buyer profile?
The ONE8Y Database is the only platform that measures fan purchasing behaviour, attitudes and sponsorship acceptance weekly for several sports — in up to 70 markets. So that sponsorship decisions are based on what fans really do: buy.
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FAQ
Sports fan analysis — explained in brief.
Complete answers, no teasers. For CMOs, sponsorship managers and agencies across all sports.
01What is a sports fan consumer insights analysis?
A sports fan consumer insights analysis systematically measures the purchasing behaviour, attitudes and sponsorship acceptance of sports fans — broken down by sport, engagement intensity, demographic profile and market. The aim is to understand fans not only as an audience (who sees what), but as a consumer group (who buys what, why, and at what price). The ONE8Y Database collects this data weekly in up to 70 markets, across all relevant sports, with 150,000–200,000 interviews per year.
02Do sports fans really buy because of sponsorship?
Yes — and there is empirical evidence. In the Fan Buying Power Report Professional Football 2026 (ONE8Y Database, n=3,030, May 2026), 63 percent of German football fans have already knowingly bought a product or service because of sponsorship. 71 percent prefer the club sponsor at equal value for money. 55 percent pay a premium for sponsor brands. These are football data — the underlying mechanism (fan loyalty transferring to sponsor brands) appears in comparable form in every sport with strong fan loyalty, from winter sports to motorsport.
03How do fans of different sports differ as consumers?
Fans of different sports differ considerably in their buyer profile, their demographics and their sponsorship acceptance. Football has the broadest mass base with a diverse demographic profile. Winter sports fans typically have above-average household income and a strong affinity for outdoor and premium brands. Motorsport fans show a pronounced affinity for technology and brands, especially automotive and technology brands. The ONE8Y Database measures these differences by sport and makes them directly comparable — for sponsors who want to optimise their mix of sports.
04What makes the ONE8Y Database different from classic market research providers?
Classic market research providers usually deliver sports fan studies once a year, often limited to one sport or one market, with project durations of several months. The ONE8Y Database delivers: weekly updates (no waiting for annual studies), 150,000–200,000 interviews per year for consistent sample quality, coverage across sports (football, winter sports, motorsport and more), up to 70 international markets and 90 percent own research — no aggregated secondary sources. The result: subscription access to primary data that was previously only available through individual projects.
05Which sports does the ONE8Y Database cover?
The ONE8Y Database covers all sports — with a research focus on professional football in the DACH region, which forms the most comprehensive public data through the weekly Sky Sport News format “Das Fußball-Barometer” (the Football Barometer) and the Fan Buying Power Report. Other sports covered include winter sports (alpine skiing, biathlon, ski jumping), motorsport, handball, basketball and other trend and grassroots sports. Expansion to up to 70 markets also makes it possible to cover sport-specific regional markets (e.g. skiing in Austria and Switzerland, motorsport in the UK and Italy).
06How can I use fan consumer insights for sponsorship decisions?
Fan consumer insights from the ONE8Y Database can be used directly in four decision areas: (1) Sponsorship selection — which sport or club has the greatest overlap between its fan base and my buyer target group? (2) ROI forecast — what willingness to buy, price premium tolerance and image transfer can I realistically expect from this fan base? (3) Activation management — which activation formats work best for which fan segments? (4) Risk assessment — which risks of rejection arise from single-club or single-sport strategies? The ONE8Y Database delivers this data weekly — as an ongoing management tool.
More data areas in the ONE8Y Database.
Deep dive football
Bundesliga sponsorship data
Fan buying power, brand perception and sales impact — the primary data on German professional football across all three leagues.
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Methodology & ROI
Sponsorship ROI evaluation
From awareness to sales: the complete impact chain and the ROSI framework — across all sports.
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Are your target customers buying because of you?
Whether ski brand, car maker, energy drink or financial services provider: anyone investing in sport asks the same question. The ONE8Y Database gives the answer. Weekly. Across all sports. Based on data.
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