It’s official: sports fans – and sports teams, organisations and athletes - love social media.

Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have given fans the opportunity to stay connected  with organizations, teams, sporting personalities, news outlets – and each other – which has been hugely successful for everyone involved.

Combined, the NBA, NFL, NHL and MBL have around 20 million Likes on their respective Facebook Pages. FC Barcelona has more than 26 million fans by itself. Teams such as the LA Lakers, Orlando Magic, Real Madrid, Montreal Canadians and New England Patriots, and pro athletes such as Shaquille O’Neal, Kaka, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James have millions and millions of Twitter followers.

Sport and social is proving to be such a good mix, Twitter has even set up an official profile, @TwitterSports, to keep fans in touch with the latest news.

This infographic from GMR Marketing takes a closer look at why, when it comes to the business of sports media, social is leading the pack.

(Source: GMR Marketing. Sport image via Shutterstock.)