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Spectator Sports in Canada - Market Research Report (2014-2029)

Shawn McGrath Shawn McGrath New York, United States Last Updated: November 2024 NAICS 71120CA

Revenue

$4.2bn

2024

$4.2bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

$XX.Xm

Employees

14,440

Businesses

4,975

Wages

$XXX.Xm

Spectator Sports in Canada industry analysis

The spectator sports industry in Canada has experienced a dynamic blend of challenges and opportunities in recent times. A strong NHL season in 2024, buoyed by a new media rights deal in the US, exemplified a trend toward leveraging TV broadcasting and digital platforms to sustain revenue streams when attendance dips. Smaller leagues and teams grapple with financial instability, lacking the media contracts and sponsorships that bolster larger franchises. Revenue is expected to weaken at a CAGR of 1.9% to $4.2 billion over the years to 2024, including a growth of 2.2% in 2024 alone.

Trends and Insights

  • Strategic media deals are essential for the financial stability of major Canadian sports leagues. These agreements drive viewership, provide steady income, and expand audience reach.
  • Middle-aged and senior Canadians drive sports revenue. With more disposable income, they can spend freely on tickets, merchandise, and concessions, often purchasing for their children, boosting their market share.
  • Ontario is the heart of Canada's sports scene, hosting a significant portion of the nation's franchises. With Toronto's iconic teams and the Ontario Hockey League, the province is sports central in Canada.
  • The cost to establish sports franchises can be steep, often in the hundreds of millions. Expenses like paying salaries, charter flights, scouting and legal fees take up a large percentage of revenue.

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  • Market estimates from 2014-2029
  • Critical performance data and rankings
  • Detailed analysis of competitive forces and the external environment
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Industry Statistics and Trends

Market size and recent performance (2014-2029)

Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 1.9 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $4.2bn in 2024.

Trends and Insights

High ticket prices prevent higher stadium attendance

  • Spending on sports franchises is a non-essential expenditure for consumers, so a contraction in per capita disposable income curbs ticket, concession and merchandise sales. Under economic pressure, sports fans prefer to watch games at home or sports bars instead.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Spectator Sports in Canada
Revenue (2014-2029)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2024-2029)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

Expanding streaming services will boost accessibility

  • Streaming services are expanding to enhance the accessibility of spectator sports in Canada. Leagues lacking traditional broadcast or cable contracts can tap into these platforms for additional revenue streams. This will democratize access, benefiting smaller leagues and teams.

Biggest companies in the Spectator Sports in Canada

Company
Market Share (%)
2024
Revenue ($m)
2024
Profit ($m)
2024
Profit Margin (%)
2024

There are no companies that hold a large enough market share in the Spectator Sports in Canada industry for IBISWorld to include in this product.

Products & Services Segmentation

Spectator Sports in Canada
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Admissions to live sports events, Sporting event broadcast and other media rights and Advertising and endorsement revenue. Admissions to live sports events is the largest segment of the Spectator Sports in Canada.

Trends and Insights

Broadcast rights are increasingly crucial, particularly at the top

  • Broadcast rights are only relevant to a few leagues at the top of the industry, but for those that are able to secure a lucrative contract, it can send revenue skyrocketing.
  • More insights available in the full report

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

Spectator sports in Canada comprises sports teams or clubs that participate in live professional or semiprofessional sporting events (e.g. baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer and other team sports) before a paying audience. The sports franchises in this industry may or may not operate their own facilities for presenting games or other spectator sports events.

What's included in this industry?

Providing sporting entertainmentSelling tickets to sporting eventsSelling advertisingSelling media and broadcasting rightsSelling concessionsSelling merchandise

Companies

Purchase this report to view all major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

REVENUE-SHARINGSALARY CAPSPORTS PARTICIPATION RATE

Industry Code

NAICS 2007

NAICS 71121 - Spectator Sports in Canada

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

Strategic media deals are essential for the financial stability of major Canadian sports leagues. These agreements drive viewership, provide steady income, and expand audienc...

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Employees, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Businesses, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Profit, including historical (2014-2024)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
  • How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

Middle-aged and senior Canadians drive sports revenue. With more disposable income, they can spend freely on tickets, merchandise, and concessions, often purchasing for their...

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2024
  • Product innovation level

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2024
  • Major market segmentation in 2024

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

Ontario is the heart of Canada's sports scene, hosting a significant portion of the nation's franchises. With Toronto's iconic teams and the Ontario Hockey League, the provin...

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each province
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2024

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each province in 2024
  • Number and share of revenue each province accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of wages each province accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of employees in each province in 2024

Detailed analysis

  • Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

The cost to establish sports franchises can be steep, often in the hundreds of millions. Expenses like paying salaries, charter flights, scouting and legal fees take up a lar...

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2019-2024
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

Detailed analysis

  • Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
  • Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
  • Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
  • Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
  • Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
  • Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
  • Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
  • Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
  • Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.

Companies

Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.

Analyst insights

National Hockey League teams dominate sports franchises. Seven teams are located in Canada and the average valuation of the 31 franchises is over $1.0 billion.

In this chapter

  • Market Share Concentration
  • Companies
  • Company Spotlights

Charts

  • Industry market share by company in 2020 through 2024
  • Major companies in the industry, including market share, revenue, profit and profit margin in 2024

Detailed analysis

    External Environment

    Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

    Analyst insights

    Sports franchises are lightly regulated by the government. Despite this, the league they're involved in has tight control over how individual teams operate.

    In this chapter

    • External Drivers
    • Regulation & Policy
    • Assistance

    Key metrics

    • Regulation & policy level and trend
    • Assistance level and trend

    Charts

    • Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 
    • Assistance historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 

    Detailed analysis

    • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
    • Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
    • Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.

    Financial Benchmarks

    View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

    Analyst insights

    Profit in sports franchises is tight because of fierce competition. While major leagues make a killing from ticket sales and media rights, smaller teams fight for survival wi...

    In this chapter

    • Cost Structure
    • Financial Ratios
    • Key Ratios

    Key metrics

    • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
    • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
    • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
    • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

    Charts

    • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
    • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
    • Investment vs. share of economy

    Data tables

    • Liquidity Ratios (2017-2022)
    • Coverage Ratios (2017-2022)
    • Leverage Ratios  (2017-2022)
    • Operating Ratios (2017-2022)
    • Assets (2017-2022)
    • Liabilities (2017-2022)
    • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2014-2029)
    • Revenue per Employee (2014-2029)
    • Revenue per Enterprise (2014-2029)
    • Employees per Establishment (2014-2029)
    • Employees per Enterprise (2014-2029)
    • Average Wage (2014-2029)
    • Wages/Revenue (2014-2029)
    • Establishments per Enterprise (2014-2029)
    • IVA/Revenue (2014-2029)
    • Imports/Demand (2014-2029)
    • Exports/Revenue (2014-2029)

    Detailed analysis

    • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

    Key Statistics

    Industry Data

    Data Tables

    Including values and annual change:

    • Revenue (2014-2029)
    • IVA (2014-2029)
    • Establishments (2014-2029)
    • Enterprises (2014-2029)
    • Employment (2014-2029)
    • Exports (2014-2029)
    • Imports (2014-2029)
    • Wages (2014-2029)

    Top Questions Answered

    Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

    What is the market size of the Spectator Sports industry in Canada in 2024?

    The market size of the Spectator Sports industry in Canada is $4.2bn in 2024.

    How many businesses are there in the Spectator Sports in Canada industry in 2024?

    There are 4,975 businesses in the Spectator Sports industry in Canada, which has declined at a CAGR of 0.5 % between 2019 and 2024.

    Has the Spectator Sports industry in Canada grown or declined over the past 5 years?

    The market size of the Spectator Sports industry in Canada has been declining at a CAGR of 1.9 % between 2019 and 2024.

    What is the forecast growth of the Spectator Sports industry in Canada over the next 5 years?

    Over the next five years, the Spectator Sports industry in Canada is expected to grow.

    What does the Spectator Sports in Canada include?

    Providing sporting entertainment and Selling tickets to sporting events are part of the Spectator Sports industry.

    How competitive is the Spectator Sports industry in Canada?

    The level of competition is high and increasing in the Spectator Sports industry in Canada.

    Related Industries

    Widen your competitive advantage with related industries

    Competitors

    • TV Broadcasting in Canada

    Complementors

    • Concert & Event Promotion in Canada
    • Golf Courses & Country Clubs in Canada
    • Ski & Snowboard Resorts in Canada

    International industries

    • Sports Franchises in the US
    • Sports and Physical Recreation Clubs in Australia
    • Sports and Physical Recreation Clubs in New Zealand
    • Sports Clubs in the UK

    View all industries in Canada

    Methodology

    How are IBISWorld reports created?

    IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.

    Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

    IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

    What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

    Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

    Key data sources in Canada include:

    • Statistics Canada
    • Industry Canada
    • Canadian Business Patterns

    Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

    These sources include:

    • Industry and trade associations
    • Industry federations or regulators
    • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

    Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

    How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

    IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

    IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.

    Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.