Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- BT and Sky get Premier League rights for a lower price
- Sterling points to racial bias in sports media reporting
- Eleven Sports’ struggles highlights barriers for new entrants
- Football Association remains firm about Saturday 3pm blackout
- Key players
- Amazon makes further push into live sport
- New Formula 1 subscription service launches
- Discovery buys PGA Tour rights and is set to launch subscription service
- EFL’s iFollow introduced in the UK
- The consumer
- Growth in non-live sports viewing
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- Figure 1: Viewership of sports content, October 2016 and 2018
- Nearly eight in ten sports viewers watched live football
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- Figure 2: Sports watched live, October 2016 and 2018
- Nearly half watch sport via pay-TV
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- Figure 3: Services used to watch live sport, October 2018
- More than one in three have stopped watching a competition after TV service change
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- Figure 4: Interest in using services for watching live sport, October 2018
- Sky Sports is viewed as best value for money
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- Figure 5: Attitudes towards sports broadcasters, October 2018
- Facebook is most used social media platform for sports content
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- Figure 6: Sport and social media, October 2018
- Nearly half still turn to newspapers for sports coverage
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- Figure 7: Sport and the media behaviour, October 2018
- Many are calling for more female pundits/commentators
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- Figure 8: Attitudes towards sport broadcasting, October 2018
- Unfavourable sports sponsorships are halting shirt sales
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards sport sponsorship, October 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Need for greater diversity in sports media is brought to the forefront
- The facts
- The implications
- Broadcasters hold off new subscription services for now but might struggle in the future
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- BT and Sky get Premier League rights for a lower price
- Eleven Sports’ struggles highlight barriers for new entrants
- Football Association remains firm about Saturday 3pm blackout
- Sterling points to racial bias in sports media reporting
- World Cup shown in VR but consumers’ interest is still limited
- Sports challenge broadcasting practices of highlighting ‘hot’ women
Market Drivers
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- BT and Sky get Premier League rights for a lower price
- Eleven Sports’s struggles highlight barriers for new entrants
- Football Association remains firm about Saturday 3pm blackout
- Sterling points to racial bias in sports media reporting
- World Cup shown in VR but consumers’ interest is still limited
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- Figure 10: VR usage for World Cup, September 2018
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- Figure 11: Interest in using VR for World Cup, October 2018
- Sports challenge broadcasting practices of highlighting ‘hot’ women
- Ballon d’OR incident highlights people’s increasingly low tolerance for undermining female athletes
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Amazon makes further push into live sport
- Facebook gets global rights to football
- New Formula 1 subscription service launches
- Sky and Channel 4 strike deal over F1
- Discovery buys PGA Tour rights and is set to launch subscription service
- EFL’s iFollow introduced in the UK
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Amazon makes further push into live sport
- New streaming services have problems with live sports broadcasts
- Facebook gets global rights to football
- New Formula 1 subscription service launches
- Sky and Channel 4 strike deal over F1
- Discovery buys PGA Tour rights and is set to launch subscription service
- EFL’s iFollow introduced in the UK
- Sky Sports launches new dedicated horse racing channel
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Growth in non-live sports viewing
- More people are watching outside of the home
- More than one in three have stopped watching a competition after TV service change
- Popularity of tennis with women highlights potential of women’s sport
- Nearly half still turn to newspapers for sports coverage
- Facebook is most used social media platform for sports content…
- Sky Sports is viewed as best value for money
- Many are calling for more female pundits/commentators
- Unfavourable sports sponsorships are halting shirt sales
Viewership of Sports Content
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- Growth in non-live sports viewing
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- Figure 12: Viewership of sports content, October 2016 and 2018
- More people are watching outside of the home
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- Figure 13: Location viewing live sports content, October 2016 and 2018
- People’s ideal sports viewing experiences are communal
Services Used to Watch Live Sport
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- Nearly half watch sport via pay-TV
- Sport viewing on subscription services is still fairly niche but this might be set to change
- Sport-specific subscription services could appeal to viewers
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- Figure 14: Services used to watch live sport, October 2018
- More than one in three have stopped watching a competition after TV service change
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- Figure 15: Interest in using services for watching live sport, October 2018
- Free online streams could significantly boost younger viewership
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- Figure 16: Interest in using services for watching live sport, by age, October 2018
Sports Watched Live
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- Nearly eight in ten sports viewers watched live football
- Popularity of tennis with women highlights potential of women’s sport
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- Figure 17: Sports watched live, October 2016 and 2018
- Four in ten sports viewers watch four or more sports
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- Figure 18: Repertoire of sports watched live, October 2018
Sport and the Media Behaviour
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- Nearly half still turn to newspapers for sports coverage
- Attention brought to racial bias in newspapers could turn many readers away
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- Figure 19: Sport and the media behaviour, October 2018
- Clubs shouldn’t overlook the importance of podcasts
Sport and Social Media
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- Facebook is most used social media platform for sports content…
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- Figure 20: Sport and social media, October 2018
- …but not for 16-24s
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- Figure 21: Sport and social media, by age, October 2018
Sports Broadcasters – Perceptions of Value
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- Sky Sports is viewed as best value for money
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- Figure 22: Attitudes towards sports broadcasters, October 2018
- Perception of Eurosport’s value could change as it acquires more content
Attitudes towards Sports Broadcasting
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- Many are calling for more female pundits/commentators
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- Figure 23: Attitudes towards sport broadcasting, October 2018
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- Figure 24: Attitude towards statement ‘Sports broadcasters should have more female pundits/commentators’, by age, October 2018
- More adverts targeting women can create a more inclusive experience
Sport Sponsorship
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- Unfavourable sports sponsorships are halting shirt sales
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- Figure 25: Attitudes towards sport sponsorship, October 2018
- Gambling advertising restrictions introduced, with consumers more aware of brand morality
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- Figure 26: Attitudes towards sport and sponsorship, answer yes to statements, by parent status, October 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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