Heated Rivalry, adapted from the Game Changers series by author Rachel Reid, has been a global success. The show, that portrays queer love stories of male athletes in the fictional sport of Major League Hockey, has been renewed for a second season.

Who is watching Heated Rivalry?

YouGov Sport survey shows that around 15% of all Australians have watched Heated Rivalry. A further 26% are considering watching the show, bringing the total audience for Heated Rivalry to be around 2 in 5 (40%) Australians.

Heated Rivalry has been more successful in capturing the attention of younger Australians, with 27% of 18–34-year-olds having watched it, and another 37% considering watching the show.

Has Heated Rivalry helped grow the popularity of ice hockey in Australia?

Of Australians who had watched Heated Rivalry previously, a high percentage are now likely to watch professional ice hockey as a result of watching the show (at 74%), underlining the positive effects of a sports-related TV show on sports fanbases.

Sports-related shows and movies, even if fictional, are likely to influence Australians, especially the younger audiences, to follow the relevant sport. Sport organisations in Australia have an opportunity to engage with younger audiences through leveraging compelling storytelling, thereby also enhancing the sport’s following and there are several social media examples in recent weeks of Ice Hockey teams and leagues globally successfully taking advantage of the swell.

How do different Australian Sports Fans feel about LGBTQIA+ representation in sports?

38% of Australians agree that LGBTQIA+ representation is important in men’s sports, with AFL Fans (38%), BBL Fans (38%), and NRL Fans (39%) feeling the same as all Australians. Notably, 45% of A-League Men Fans, 42% of Supercars Fans, and 41% of Super Rugby Fans more strongly agree to the importance of representation. These fanbases stand out as the ones most concerned about LGBTQIA+ representation in men’s sports.

A similar proportion of Australians (39%) also agree that Australian sports organisations are doing enough to support LGBTQIA+ representation. Agreement to this statement is enhanced among fans of all key leagues analysed, led by Super Rugby Pacific Fans (51%). Around half of Sports Fans agree that sports organisations are doing enough, providing an opportunity for relevant organisations to do more in this space and improve fan perceptions of their efforts.

Pride Rounds in Australian sports are doing a good job of meaningfully promoting diversity and inclusion for the LGBTQIA+ community. However, with only under half of Sports Fans in agreement, there is further scope to improve positive perceptions of their initiatives like Pride Rounds to support the community.

If you would like to delve deeper into the intersection of entertainment, sport and community impact please reach out to will.serocold@yougov.com

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