Live fandom: how second screens changed how we watch football | OneFootball

There was a time when being a fan was a single-screen activity. It was mostly limited to television and, at most, a radio by your side as a backup to follow what others were saying about the match.

Back then, those discussions happened in the bakery line and at bar tables, and nowadays that kind of match-following no longer exists in the same way, having turned into real-time tracking through TV, apps, streaming sites, betting platforms, and everything happening live.

Photo: Gustavo Ferreira/Unsplash

This did not happen only in football, but is part of a much bigger transformation in how we consume all kinds of digital entertainment content. Our goal in this article is to understand how this movement explains why these more instant forms of entertainment have been dominating the attention of the general public.

The second screen has become the undisputed starter

The numbers leave no doubt about the scale of this behavioral change. According to an Ipsos Institute survey released in 2025, 64% of Brazilians browse on their phones while watching content on TV or streaming, the so-called multiscreen behavior, which becomes even stronger during sporting events.

In practice, that means the phone is not a distraction during the game, but a fundamental part of the experience of following a match. A modern fan now tracks the team’s heat map in real time, checks the speed of a shot that just happened, and compares stats updated every second.

This has even affected the way people talk about football, because what used to be based on passion and memory can now easily be based on statistics, possession data, shots, and other figures updated in real time.

The culture of immediacy and the battle for attention

This hunger for real-time answers has created a new consumption pattern: immediacy. Audiences are already used to receiving live statistics and no longer have patience for any slow or rigid experience. It is no surprise that the fastest-growing entertainment formats are precisely those that deliver this immediate experience. This can be seen in broadcasts with live chat, real-time commentary, and interactions among users themselves.

Today, any 15-minute break becomes time to return to fully developed TV programming, heavily driven by data. These breaks, in fact, have become fiercely contested spaces for users’ attention. While the team leaves the field, millions of fans pick up their phones looking for some form of quick entertainment to fill that time.

Instant-paced games: the format of the real-time era

Within the world of digital entertainment, few formats translate this logic of immediacy as well as so-called crash games. These are games with extremely short rounds, lasting only seconds, in which a multiplier rises on the screen and the player decides when to cash out before the graph “crashes.”

The mechanics are simple, and the appeal lies precisely in the real-time dynamic: each round is a unique, fast, and unpredictable event, with an immediate result. On platforms licensed in Brazil, such as Playuzu crash games, this format appears in different versions and themes, always with the same logic of instant decision-making that defines the category.

It is no coincidence that this type of game gained ground precisely in the era of the second screen. It speaks to the same audience that follows live statistics and reacts to every play in real time: people who value dynamism, immediate feedback, and experiences that fit into any break in the day.

Regulation: real time with clear rules

All this expansion of real-time digital entertainment in Brazil reached an important milestone with the regulation of the online gaming and betting sector, in force since January 2025. Since then, only platforms licensed by the SPA (Secretariat of Prizes and Betting), an agency linked to the Ministry of Finance, may legally operate in the country.

This new law introduced a series of measures that companies wanting to enter the betting business must comply with in Brazil. Although there are different levels of requirements for betting operators, for the end user the goal is simple: they should only bet with licensed betting platforms. This oversight is a safeguard that ensures this real-time experience always takes place with transparency and security.

The fan has changed, and the game has kept up

At the end of the day, this second screen has not taken attention away from football; it has expanded and changed the way people support their team during a match. The game is still the center of attention, but it now comes with much more real-time data, simultaneous conversations, and new forms of activity around football. Audiences now expect this in every match. This culture of immediacy is here to stay and should continue growing in the coming years, with experiences that are increasingly compelling and immersive.

And it is always worth remembering: entertainment involving money is for adults 18 and over, on licensed platforms and, above all, with responsibility and awareness.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.