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Sport and the Media - UK - January 2019

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Products covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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
Figure 1: Viewership of sports content, October 2016 and 2018
Nearly eight in ten sports viewers watched live football
Figure 2: Sports watched live, October 2016 and 2018
Nearly half watch sport via pay-TV
Figure 3: Services used to watch live sport, October 2018
More than one in three have stopped watching a competition after TV service change
Figure 4: Interest in using services for watching live sport, October 2018
Sky Sports is viewed as best value for money
Figure 5: Attitudes towards sports broadcasters, October 2018
Facebook is most used social media platform for sports content
Figure 6: Sport and social media, October 2018
Nearly half still turn to newspapers for sports coverage
Figure 7: Sport and the media behaviour, October 2018
Many are calling for more female pundits/commentators
Figure 8: Attitudes towards sport broadcasting, October 2018
Unfavourable sports sponsorships are halting shirt sales
Figure 9: Attitudes towards sport sponsorship, October 2018
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
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
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
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
Figure 10: VR usage for World Cup, September 2018
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
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
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
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
Growth in non-live sports viewing
Figure 12: Viewership of sports content, October 2016 and 2018
More people are watching outside of the home
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 
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
Figure 14: Services used to watch live sport, October 2018
More than one in three have stopped watching a competition after TV service change
Figure 15: Interest in using services for watching live sport, October 2018
Free online streams could significantly boost younger viewership
Figure 16: Interest in using services for watching live sport, by age, October 2018
SPORTS WATCHED LIVE 
Nearly eight in ten sports viewers watched live football
Popularity of tennis with women highlights potential of women’s sport
Figure 17: Sports watched live, October 2016 and 2018
Four in ten sports viewers watch four or more sports
Figure 18: Repertoire of sports watched live, October 2018
SPORT AND THE MEDIA BEHAVIOUR 
Nearly half still turn to newspapers for sports coverage
Attention brought to racial bias in newspapers could turn many readers away
Figure 19: Sport and the media behaviour, October 2018
Clubs shouldn’t overlook the importance of podcasts
SPORT AND SOCIAL MEDIA 
Facebook is most used social media platform for sports content…
Figure 20: Sport and social media, October 2018
…but not for 16-24s
Figure 21: Sport and social media, by age, October 2018
SPORTS BROADCASTERS – PERCEPTIONS OF VALUE 
Sky Sports is viewed as best value for money
Figure 22: Attitudes towards sports broadcasters, October 2018
Perception of Eurosport’s value could change as it acquires more content
ATTITUDES TOWARDS SPORTS BROADCASTING 
Many are calling for more female pundits/commentators
Figure 23: Attitudes towards sport broadcasting, October 2018
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
Unfavourable sports sponsorships are halting shirt sales
Figure 25: Attitudes towards sport sponsorship, October 2018
Gambling advertising restrictions introduced, with consumers more aware of brand morality
Figure 26: Attitudes towards sport and sponsorship, answer yes to statements, by parent status, October 2018
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology

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