Description
The UK Spectator Sports Market Report examines the UK adults’ experience of watching live spectator sport, either at an event venue or broadcast via television or the internet. The report covers market dynamics, including market size and segmentation, and the latest consumer trends shaping the future of the spectator sports industry.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on spectator sports
- How other sports can step out of football’s shadow
- The value of major events
- The implications for viewing and spectating habits of demographic change
- The importance of fandom
- What fans think about ethics in sport
- How new events can find space in a crowded market
UK Spectator Sports Industry – Current Landscape
A combination of fewer major events and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis will reduce attendance spending in 2024, with lower-tier sports most at risk. Football attendances are more than seven times greater than those of horseracing, the next most popular sport. Over the next five years, improving economic conditions will support stronger spending on event attendance before the UK and Ireland’s hosting of EURO 2028 boosts market value ahead of the event.
- UK spectator sports market size: Consumer spending on spectator sports attendance is estimated to have increased by 2.3% in 2023.
Purchase the full report to learn more about the UK Spectator Sports Market, complete with consumer insights and innovation and marketing trends. Readers of this report may also be interested in UK Major Sporting Events Market Report 2023.
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Expert Analysis from an Industry Specialist
This report, written by David Walmsley, a leading analyst in the sport and leisure sectors, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK spectator sports market and add expert context to the numbers.
Sports beyond football could be challenged by new properties that are freer to innovate in formats, presentation and – above all – accessibility.
Table of Contents
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- Key issues covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the spectator sports market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: leading spectator sport segment attendances, 2022/23
- Graph 2: financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Graph 3: Peak viewing figures for major sporting events, 2022/23
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: experience of live sport, 2018-23
- Graph 5: sports fans, 2023
- Graph 6: sports watched live, 2022 and 2023
- Graph 7: methods of watching live sport, 2023
- Graph 8: attitudes towards ethics in sport, 2023
- Graph 9: awareness of new spectator sports events within Gen Z, 2023
- Graph 10: incentives to watch new spectator sports events, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Market forecast
- Graph 11: consumer expenditure on spectator sports attendance, 2010-14
- Market segmentation
- Graph 12: English league football attendances, 2018/19-2022/23
- Graph 13: horseracing attendance, 2018-23
- Graph 14: English cricket attendance, 2018-23
- Graph 15: English Premiership rugby union attendance, 2017/18-2022/23
- Graph 16: Super League attendance, 2018-23
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 17: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 18: financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 19: financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Graph 20: past-year spectator sports event attendance, by household income, 2023
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 21: peak viewing figures for major sporting events, 2022/23
- Graph 22: leading football clubs’ capital expenditure, 2021/22
- Graph 23: projected age structure of the 15+ population, 2028
- Graph 24: repertoires of sports watched live, by age, 2023
- Graph 25: technology-based activities undertaken at a live sport event, 2023
- Graph 26: interest in using smart glasses to access real-time data when watching sport, by experience of live sport in the last 12 months, 2023
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Sports followers
- Graph 27: experience of watching live sport, by gender, 2018-23
- Sports fans
- Graph 28: sports fans, 2023
- Graph 29: attitudes towards ethics in sport, by fan status, 2023
- Sports watched
- Graph 30: sports watched live, 2022 and 2023
- Graph 31: spectator sports viewing repertoires, by gender, 2023
- Methods of watching
- Graph 32: methods of watching live sport, 2023
- Graph 33: past-year experience of watching live sport on smartphones, 2023
- Graph 34: methods of watching live sport, by age, 2023
- Graph 35: methods of watching live sport, by annual household income, 2023
- Sport and ethics
- Graph 36: attitudes towards ethics in sport, 2023
- Graph 37: agreement with statements about ethics in spectator sports, by age, 2023
- Interest in new events
- Graph 38: awareness of new spectator sports events within Generation Z, 2023
- Graph 39: awareness of new spectator sports events among Younger Millennials (aged 27-33), 2023
- Incentives to watch new events
- Graph 40: incentives to watch new spectator sports events, 2023
- Graph 41: appeal of affordable ticket prices as an incentive to watch new spectator sports events, by gender and age, 2023
- Graph 42: involvement of celebrities/influencers as an incentive to watch new spectator sports events, by age and gender, 2023
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
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Appendix
- Supplementary data
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
About the report
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Data
Market reports provide appendices of data to support the research and insight produced. Our databooks* are easily manipulated and downloadable to support your research needs and covers factors from consumer attitudes to market forecasts.
*databooks not available with UK B2B Industry reports.
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