GAME CHANGING
How sport makes us happier, healthier and better connected.
September 2024
KEY FINDINGS
1.
The UK is a nation of sports fans.
People across the UK dedicate serious time and energy to sport, equivalent to every adult engaging in sport for almost 2.5 hours a week.
Two in three UK adults actively describe themselves as a sports fan, and a quarter go as far as to say that sport is an important part of their identity. This demonstrates that sport is not just a hobby: it’s a way of life.
More people want to watch sports than ever before. In the last year, Sky Sports has reached millions of viewers – helping to consolidate the success of fan favourites, as well as ensuring emerging sports gain visibility and attract new followers.
2.
Sports broadcasters help to bring more sport to more people.
Sports broadcasters play a pivotal role in supporting this ecosystem. Rights deals bring fans more and better coverage, whilst also facilitating critical revenue for sports organisations across the country to thrive.
Two in five UK adults now watch more women’s sport as a result of high quality sports broadcasting – and we estimate that 30 million UK adults watched a women’s sports match in 2023.
3.
Sports fans feel healthier, happier and more connected.
Equally important, sports fandom has a powerful effect on the nation’s mood. 54% of UK adults say playing, watching or being a fan of sports has had a positive impact on their mental health, rising to 65% of men.
Overall, the shared experience of following sport helps fans to feel more connected to the people around them. In 2023, UK made 62 million new connections through sport over the course of the year.
4.
Sports also catalyses economic growth across the country.
Moreover, when people come together to watch or play sports, they bring their spending power. This becomes an engine for regional economic activity, as sports fans support British businesses in their local area.
Even when they’re miles from the action, fans will gather in their favourite bars and pubs to watch events together. This enhanced foot fall leads to increased revenue.
5.
With the right support, UK sports can continue to be a national success story.
By growing our culture of sports fandom further, the UK can build stronger communities, promote inclusivity, and enhance national pride – thereby driving both social and economic progress.
Public First estimates that sports fans are set to generate £13 billion for the economy in 2034.
However, this can only be achieved through the continued innovations and investment across the whole sporting ecosystem. Everyone from sports associations and clubs through to broadcasters and policymakers will need to work in harmony to ensure that our sporting sector keeps pace with what the fans need.
Foreword
Sport Changes Lives
Sport is more than just a game; it’s a vital part of our society, fostering individual growth and a sense of community. Beyond promoting physical and mental wellbeing, it cultivates essential life skills like teamwork, discipline and resilience.
Throughout my life, I have witnessed firsthand how transformative sport can be. Sport transcends differences, uniting people from diverse backgrounds through a shared passion. It ignites local and national pride, creating a deep sense of belonging.
At Sky, we’re obsessed with sport. It’s in our DNA. For over three decades, we’ve brought fans closer to the action by revolutionising sports broadcasting through our longstanding partnerships with rights holders in the UK, across Europe, and around the world.
The economic impact of Sky Sports is monumental. New research by Public First shows that Sky Sports contributed nearly £4 billion to the UK economy in 2023 alone – an astonishing £10 million per day.
We are proud to play a pivotal role in this inspiring journey. By setting new standards in sports broadcasting, we’re attracting a wider audience than ever before, inspiring an unprecedented number of young and female fans. This not only enhances the lives of millions but also strengthens the foundation of sport in the UK.
Sport has the power to change lives. That’s why Sky commissioned this report to understand its impact on our communities, our economy, and our wellbeing – whilst ensuring sport remains one of the UK’s greatest exports.
Through this research, we hope to inspire everyone – from government to grassroots clubs – to continue to back sport. We’re committed to finding ways to encourage more people to play, watch, and ultimately love sport. Our goal is to help grow UK sports fandom by an additional 10 million new fans by 2034, creating a bigger, brighter future for everyone.
Let’s work together to ensure sport allows us all to win.
Dana Strong
Group Chief Executive Officer
About this report
In this report, Sky Sports commissioned Public First to better understand and quantify the impact of the UK’s sporting ecosystem. Public First’s independent findings reflect the powerful social and economic role that sports fans play in UK society, as well as the role played by sports broadcasters such as Sky, rights holders, and sports players.
Research Methods
Public First used a mixture of methods to conduct this research:
- They ran an in-depth nationally-representative online poll of 2,010 adults in the UK to explore their attitudes towards sport.
- They spoke with over 50 people in five focus groups, in order to explore different views and behaviours held by sports fans across different regions in the UK.
- They ran 13 interviews with Sky Sports stakeholders, including broadcasters, athletes, rights holders, civil society groups and local businesses, all who have key roles in the UK’s sports sector.
- They then created new quantitative models exploring the economic impact of sport, along with analysis of current and future consumer behaviour.
About Public First
Public First is an independent consultancy that works to help companies and organisations develop new policy proposals, better understand public opinion, and model their economic and social impact. Public First is a member of the Market Research Society and the British Polling Council and we abide by their rules and guidelines.
Chapter One:
A NATION OF SPORTS FANS
The UK is a nation of sports fans. Sport is woven into the fabric of our daily lives, our relationships and – for many – our sense of self. This enduring passion grows from the UK’s long-standing sporting heritage, resulting in a vibrant tapestry of sporting enthusiasm and pride.
What does it mean to be a sports fan?
According to Public First’s research, two in three UK adults would describe themselves as sports fans. That means at least 35 million people find enjoyment in sport and sporting outcomes. Over a quarter, almost 15 million people, go as far as to say that sport is an important part of their identity. This demonstrates that sport is not just a hobby: it’s a way of life.
Brits therefore choose to dedicate serious time and energy to sport. Overall, we estimate that the adult population spent 9.1 billion hours watching and playing sport in 2023, equivalent to every adult engaging in sport for almost 2.5 hours a week.
How do sports broadcasters put fans at the heart of the action?
UK sports fans therefore have a voracious appetite when it comes to consuming sports content across a variety of platforms – with TV broadcasts overwhelmingly the most popular way to watch.
Which platforms do you use to consume sport-related content? Please select all that apply.
In 2023, Sky Sports broadcast over 50,000 hours of live sport – equivalent to over five years of non-stop content packed into one.
This reached millions of people across the UK. In the last year, 26.7 million people have watched Sky Sports on the TV, as well as catching content over a variety of pay-to-view and free to access platforms, including the Sky Sports website and app – which reached 33.2 million monthly users in 2023 – and Sky Sports’ social media channels – which have over 100 million followers and subscribers around the world. Meanwhile, 13 million unique viewers tuned in to Sky Sports News.
Whilst, statistically speaking, men continue to be more likely to catch a match – there is a notable rise in women dedicating time to their favourite sports. Looking to Sky Sports data, viewing amongst women was up by 18% in 2023 and up by 32% amongst women under 35.
Case Study:
Sky Sports+
The introduction of Sky Sports+ in August 2024 means Sky is now able to offer sports fans more choice, and an even better experience when watching live action.
Sky Sports+ allows up to 100 events to be shown concurrently via live streams and a new dedicated channel, as well as offering a revamped app on mobile.
With up to 50% extra content available than before, sports fans can stream over 1,000 EFL games a season, live action from the US Open and ATP & WTA Tours, every match from the men’s Super League, the PGA Tour and much more.
Sky Sports tells the whole story of the match
Gary Neville
Sky Sports Broadcaster & Former Professional Footballer
Gary Neville is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time, playing for England and captaining Manchester United from 2005 until his retirement in 2011. He subsequently joined Sky Sports, leading the broadcaster’s football coverage.
Changing the nature of professional football
Sky Sports’ partnership with the Premier League was probably one of the biggest changes to professional football we’ve seen in this country. Sky Sports’ investment into the game has meant we can see the best stadiums, the best players, the best coaches in the world. Without Sky’s funding, football wouldn’t be what it is today in this country.
Now, working for them as a broadcaster, I recognise that Sky Sports want to put out the best and most entertaining face of football every week. They are a bunch of extremely motivated, professional people who want to put out the best production possible of each match.
Capturing every emotion
Sky Sports tells the whole story of the match: not just what’s happening on the pitch, but also through the referee, the bench, the fans, the directors box. We now have dozens of cameras at every game and we’re picking up most things in the stadium, getting close up to the player’s faces when they’re celebrating, or showing a group of fans jumping up and down in the stands.
It’s so important that we demonstrate the passion, the angst, the joy – how much it means to people and the community. When the goal goes in and the stadium shakes, there’s nothing else in your life that will make you feel like that. Just football.
Fostering a more intimate relationship between players and fans
Football is incredibly powerful all around the world. Wherever I go, I see football shirts. And Sky Sports helps to project the most glorious form of the sport around the globe. It can feel pretty grand.
But it’s also so powerful on an individual basis, and we need to retain that balance. In the future, we want to bring the game closer to people at home. Sky Sports has great access, and the more that the players interact with us, the more they demonstrate their character. This helps us to show audiences that footballers are all human beings.
Gary Neville
Sky Sports has made the Premier League a global success
Richard Masters
Chief Executive, Premier League
Sky have been partners of the Premier League ever since the competition was created in 1992. Since then, the partnership has developed into one of the most successful rights holder/broadcaster relationships in the world.
Underpinning the Premier League’s global success
The visibility of the Premier League on Sky has helped change the way the country thinks about football. If you compare with 30 years ago, the game is now better run, more exciting, more accessible, more diverse – by virtually any metric or attribute it is better.
But its global appeal is also a major soft power asset for the UK. People around the world are desperate to see the Premier League, particularly in Asia, Africa, and increasingly the US, and broadcasters have been central to that. If you look at our revenues compared to the other major European leagues, we’re as big as the Germans, Italians, French and Spanish put together.
Delivering broader economic impact
The relationship undoubtedly underpins the huge economic impact of the Premier League. It has also enabled us to share this success with the rest of the football pyramid. We distribute 17% of our revenue outside the Premier League, to the wider football league in parachute and solidarity payments, to the national league, and all the way to the grassroots game as well. Community programmes supported by the Premier League employ 6000 people across all the clubs, often working to engage vulnerable young people through football.
Looking to the future
Premier League games are now 99% sold out and television audiences keep growing. But we want to increase the popularity of football even more, particularly by diversifying the audience and engaging the next generation.
We have an extraordinary relationship with Sky and together we provide a really compelling competition. We’re now almost synonymous with each other, and we’re always working on new ways to present the game.
Richard Masters
Sky Sports’ investments are transforming the EFL and the communities who love it
Trevor Birch
Chief Executive, English Football League
Sky have been broadcast partners of the EFL for over 20 years. The relationship is not just about the rights, but a mutually beneficial, self-reinforcing partnership.
Connecting fans with football
Sky’s involvement in the game really kickstarted the boom in the quality and attractiveness of football in this country. Football’s exposure through broadcasting has grown exponentially, bringing with it a new and more diverse fanbase.
These benefits are being felt right the way through the football pyramid, not just at the top. Better facilities and investment in players have led to a better product for fans, which has driven both spectator and audience growth.
Transforming the matchday experience
It’s remarkable to think that when selling broadcasting rights was first discussed many years ago everyone thought it would damage matchday numbers, but current football attendance is now at its highest since the post war boom years.
Investment by broadcasters has helped transform the matchday experience – improving safety, facilities (on match days and non-match days) and allowing us to develop initiatives such as family and fan zones that have led to a huge rise in the number people engaging with their clubs alongside families and female fans attending. We now have an extraordinary situation where in recent years both television viewing figures and match attendances have been growing and that is a huge positive for the game.
Becoming bulwarks of the community
The effect on local communities has been huge as well. More money available to clubs leads to more meaningful engagement in communities, fostering an improved sense of community belonging.
Football clubs are often the one institution within a community that can unite people, acting as a focal point for people whatever their background. Families gather together at games, and football provides structure to personal relationships for so many of our fans.
Reaching the next generation of fans
We’re now at a crossroads in terms of how fans of the future are going to consume content. We know viewer habits are set to keep on changing, across different formats and devices. Fans will continue to want to attend matches, so it is vital we continue investment to ensure attendance is as high as possible. But better mobile technology, for example, can also be a game changer – both for fans at home and at the ground.
Trevor Birch
Chapter Two:
MORE SPORT, FOR MORE PEOPLE
People can only support what they can see. Sports broadcasters are therefore integral when it comes to boosting audiences and driving the sports value chain.
Leading by example, Sky Sports’ innovations and investment in a wide range of sports has had a demonstrable impact on the UK’s sporting landscape, contributing to better coverage of a more diverse range of sporting talent. This has ultimately been to the benefit of UK sportspeople, rights holders and – most importantly – sports fans.
How do sports broadcasting rights underpin elite sporting success?
The UK sports sector currently benefits from an intensely competitive broadcasting landscape. Broadcasters want to meet – and exceed – audience expectations, which drives quality and innovation across the board. It also ensures there is diversity in how sports content is delivered to the public, benefiting fans through enhanced viewing experiences.
Sports organisations sell rights to show their games and events. These rights can cover everything from live TV broadcasts, online streaming, and even sponsorship opportunities. The process involves competitive negotiation with broadcasters, and the value is based on how popular the sport is, who watches it, and how exciting the games are.
Public First’s research is definitive that UK sports are dependent on the investment brought about by commercial rights deals. These partnerships provide crucial funding for sports bodies and clubs at every level, from elite to grassroots.
Pay-to-view sports broadcasters invest in high-quality sporting rights
Rights Holders reinvest critical revenue from sporting rights deals into elite and grassroots sports
UK sports can offer higher quality and more entertaining sporting moments for fans
More fans become engaged in the sport
Fans choose a pay-to-view sports broadcasting package
In this regard, Sky Sports’ direct investments in sports rights are the lifeblood of the UK’s sporting sector. Over the past decade, Sky has injected around £18 billion into UK sports, contributing hundreds of millions to the long-term development of grassroots sports. This financial support underpins economic stability and growth of UK sports, funding the daily operations of the UK’s elite sporting infrastructure, and ensuring rights holders can confidently invest in their teams and facilities.
Moreover, the excitement generated through broadcast coverage translates into higher attendance at live events. An estimated 15 million people have attended a live sporting event after first watching it on television. This phenomenon shows the powerful role of media in converting viewers into live event attendees.
“Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many o’s there are in Aguero, sometimes you won’t be able to stop Sam Kerr from back-flipping and sometimes you’ll see your team win by “the barest of margins.” Sport has the power, like nothing else, to create moments and memories that can last a lifetime.
Sky Sports has been at the forefront of bringing moments like this to life since 1991. Back then, broadcasters aired just 27 hours of live sport each month. Today, we broadcast nearly 50,000 hours every year, always striving to elevate the viewing experience for our customers.
Our pioneering innovations, such as the introduction of the clock and scoreline in football broadcasts, launching Europe’s first 24-hour sports TV news service with Sky Sports News, the introduction of ultra slow-motion cameras and the use of augmented reality in our state-of-the-art studios have redefined industry standards.
Every day the team seeks to anticipate and exceed our viewers’ expectations. This commitment is evident not only in our innovation but also in our extensive investments in sport. Over the past year, Sky Sports has struck a number of rights deals that have solidified our position as the leading destination for sports fans in Europe. Aiming to expand our audience reach but also providing certainty to our customers and to partners.
Our landmark deal with the EFL, encompassing over 1,000 matches, and the return of tennis to Sky Sports, featuring over 4,000 matches from the ATP and WTA tours, highlight our unwavering dedication to providing unparalleled coverage – brought to life via the launch of Sky Sports+ and providing fans with more choice than ever before. We continue to be the leading investor in women’s sports, offering the broadest portfolio, growing engagement and the most live hours of any broadcaster.
Beyond our commitment to delivering exceptional sports content, we recognise the transformative power of sport. As this report demonstrates, sport can serve as a catalyst for positive change, promoting health and happiness. In a world often characterised by challenges and uncertainty, sport offers hope, inspiration and social connection.”
Jonathan Licht
Managing Director - Sky Sports
How have broadcasters invested in women’s sports?
By providing investment and airtime, broadcasters help a wide range of sports gain visibility, improve playing standards and attract new fans. This exposure ensures the UK is home to a broad sporting landscape, increasing participation and support at all levels of play.
This is best exemplified by the critical role sports broadcasters play in promoting women’s sports, with almost half of UK adults agreeing that high quality coverage makes them feel more positively towards women’s sport.1
Sky Sports has played a significant role here, delivering more hours of women’s sport than any other broadcaster. In 2023, Sky was home to over 70% of all televised women’s sport, with coverage including The Ashes, Netball Super League, US Tennis Open, Women’s Super League, Solheim Cup, and all five Golf Majors.
The effort is paying off, with a record number of people now tuning in.
Two in five UK adults say they have increased their following of women’s sport in recent years. This is true of both men and women, dispelling any myths that women’s sports can only appeal to female fans.
Thinking about the last few years. In general, how much more or less have you been following women's sport, or is there no difference?
Overall, we estimate that 30 million UK adults watched a women’s sports match in 2023, with over a quarter of UK adults now following a female sports team.2
Case Study:
Women’s Football
Sky has played an important role in the growth of women’s football, having signed a landmark deal to broadcast the Women’s Super League alongside the BBC.
Sky Sports is once again set to show up to 44 Women’s Super League matches for the 2024/25 season. Dedicated social media content across Sky Sports’ WSL TikTok and Snapchat then extends the WSL’s reach to even more fans – with the Women’s Sport Trust estimating that TikTok video views for the WSL increased by 268% year-on-year to 150m views in 2023.3 Almost half of TikTok viewers for Sky’s WSL TikTok account are women.
This is critical for reaching new fans. 39% of UK adults report watching more women’s football in recent years, of which 45% attributed their increased interest to quality broadcast coverage. In other words, sports broadcasters such as Sky have a clear role in connecting fans to female sporting successes.
Sky’s own data reiterates the growing momentum behind women’s football. The audience for the Women’s Super League has quadrupled in size since the partnership with Sky began in 2021. Last season, 26% of the audience were under 35 and 38% were women. Meanwhile, the Manchester Derby had record-breaking viewing figures, peaking at 589,000.
Sky Sports’ investment is growing Netball’s reach
Fran Connolly
Chief Executive, England Netball
England Netball has partnered with Sky Sports since 2006. The relationship has helped to grow the audience for netball, and supercharge grassroots participation.
Powering netball in the UK
Sky Sports has been integral to the success of netball here in the UK. Over our 18 year partnership, we’ve worked with Sky to drive the sport forward, increasing its visibility and profile, and that’s helped to grow the whole sport.
Netball attracts a different kind of audience to other sports. Our fans are approximately 78% female and skew much younger than typical sports viewers. Continuing to grow that audience is key to helping to expand sports fandom as a whole in the UK.
Growing the grassroots
Sky Sports has helped to grow every level of the game. The visibility afforded to the sport through our partnership with Sky drives people to pick up a ball and play themselves. Over the last two decades, netball participation has doubled. We now see three million people playing every year.
Sports broadcasting plays a huge role in encouraging that. When the England Netball team made history by breaking into the Final of the World Cup for the first time last summer, we saw grassroots participation and interest in the sport more generally peak in the months that followed.
Leading the way for women’s sport
Unlike a lot of other sports, netball doesn’t have a larger mirror image in the men’s game. That’s both a challenge and an opportunity. It means there’s no blueprint to work from, no extra resources to borrow.
But it also means that we aren’t restricted. We can innovate and try new things. Our new three year partnership with Sky is going to help professionalise the Super League, bring it into larger arenas and create many more careers in the sport.
Fran Connolly
Sky Sports is number one for analysis and storytelling
Tamsin Greenway
Sky Sports Broadcaster & Former England Netball Player
Tamsin Greenway is a former England netball player, and has been working with Sky Sports for nearly 10 years providing award-winning commentary and analysis for the fans.
Providing the highest quality analysis
Loads of broadcasters show sport, but Sky is number one for analysis and storytelling. Sky Sports have gone above and beyond to push netball forwards. We’ve analysed the sport in ways no one has ever done.
We’re catering to a diverse audience. We have diehard fans who have been with us for years, and people who haven’t thought about netball since they played at school. Our broadcasting has to cater to both of those groups. That’s why we’re constantly innovating and experimenting with new ways to bring the sport to life.
Sharing the benefits of netball
Netball is the perfect spectator sport. It’s often an indoor sport, so you can watch and play all year round. It’s accessible in terms of price. Plus it’s a high scoring game, and it’s played in quarters, so the action is almost always exciting.
Netball also gives women access to the game in a totally different way to most sports. Because it’s a predominantly female sport, women are in the driving seat. We see that participation is really high across all ages, from 6 year olds to women in their 60s and 70s.
Engaging the next generation
It’s important to keep growing the sport and keep getting people involved. When you’re trying to reach a younger audience, they might not want to sit through a whole match straight away, but you can grab their attention with highlights and clips on social media.
It’s not going to happen overnight, but with the right strategy, and a long term approach working with Sky to tell the stories of the players, we can engage more people with the sport.
Tamsin Greenway
How are broadcasters supporting diversity and inclusion?
Inclusivity in sport is crucial as it ensures that everyone, regardless of their background, ability, or identity, has the opportunity to participate and enjoy all the benefits that sports offer. This not only enriches the sporting experience but also mirrors and enhances societal cohesion. 9 in 10 UK adults actively agree that discrimination should not be tolerated in sporting contexts.
Sports broadcasters have an important role to play in ensuring that the UK’s sporting ecosystem is representative and accessible to all – whether viewers are lifelong fans or new fans engaging with sport for the first time.
Case Study:
Sky Sports New Focus Fund
In 2023, Sky launched its New Focus Fund initiative as part of a £30 million pledge to tackle racial injustice and provide new opportunities for diverse creative talent in the sports industry.
In a search for new ideas from diverse content makers and independent companies, 11 content creators took part in a rigorous pitch process in front of a panel of judges including racing driver and TV presenter Naomi Schiff, societal change advocate Tunde Banjoko, entrepreneur Piers Linney, and key leaders across Sky Sports.
All participants succeeded in the pitch and proceeded to the production phase, engaging in an eight-week programme to refine their ideas, receiving guidance from Sky Sports professionals and participating in extensive workshops run by sponsors such as Arsenal Football Club, YouTube, Sky Sports digital & social teams, Sky Compliance & Legal and Sky Studios.
Rising Heat by England Rugby’s Beno Obano and Threads and Tales by Mordecai Attoh have since been aired on Sky Sports, with more content to follow over the year.
Sky Sports’ Executive Director of Content, Steve Smith, highlighted the importance of bringing fresh perspectives to Sky Sports:
“The New Focus Fund is all about reaching new audiences, with new talent and new voices, who are able to tell a story in a way that we don’t currently do at Sky Sports. We’re delighted to commission all the creators to produce their content. They were fantastic during the pitch process, and we are looking forward to seeing the final outcomes.”
Naomi Schiff, ambassador to the New Focus Fund programme said:
“It’s been fantastic to see these creators on their journey of this programme, and seeing their ideas come to life was a real privilege. Sky Sports has provided a brilliant opportunity and platform for new talent to grow in this industry, which I’m immensely proud to be part of, and I know we all can’t wait to see the final result later this year.”
Case Study:
Bespoke Content Team
Sky created a Bespoke Content team within Sky Sports News in 2022, who are shining a light on the experiences of under-represented groups in sport. Recent content has included several feature-length documentaries.
- Football’s Hidden Talent investigated the lack of representation of British South Asians in football.
- How Africa Changed the Premier League celebrated the impact African players have brought to our leagues.
- David James: The One & Only explored why David is the only ethnic minority goalkeeper to play for England.
- Fit for Purpose? highlighted the inequalities in female athlete kit and equipment, featuring Jessica Ennis-Hill & Coco Gauff.
- Aquaphobia, presented by the first black female Team GB swimmer Alice Dearing, tackled the shocking statistics of how few Black & Asian people swim and the historical stereotypes and myths surrounding this.
The team is award-winning – with reporter Miriam Walker-Khan winning the SJA ‘One to Watch’ On-Air award and Maryam Chaudhary winning the SJA ‘One to Watch’ Off-Air award. Shemi Adenekan also won the bronze two years in a row in this category.
Partnering with Sky to make football more inclusive
Sanjay Bhandari
Chair of Kick it Out
Sanjay Bhandari is the Chair of Kick it Out, a campaigning organisation working to stamp out discrimination from football. They’ve been partnered with Sky since December 2020.
Fighting to make football more inclusive
We want to make football a game for everyone, which means putting equality and inclusion front and centre. We’ve made huge progress in the last few decades. The crowds you see at matches today are unrecognisable from the ones I used to be part of when I was growing up and our recent Impact Report for our 30th year anniversary showed that fans believe Kick It Out has played its part in making football more welcoming over the last three decades.
But there’s still so much more to do. We’ve got to make football more welcoming for everyone, particularly those from under-represented communities, and we have to tackle online hate towards fans and players. We’re story rich and data poor – we don’t understand our fanbases as well as we could, and we have to improve that if we want to make real change.
Partnering with Sky
When we started working with Sky four years ago, they were our first commercial partner of this scale. Sky is a natural partner for us because they’re the home of football. We have a shared mission to eradicate discrimination, and make football a game where everyone feels that they belong.
Sky is committed to promoting more diversity in the sport. They’ve been willing to call out discrimination, and have those difficult conversations on air. They’ve also supported our wider campaigns – such as a social media weekend blackout, to highlight problems of racism and online abuse and our ongoing sexism and misogyny campaign – and helped us highlight and expand our programmes.
Reaching new fans
To reach new fans, we need to move from clubs and other organisations having an ‘open doors’ policy to an ‘open hearts and minds’ policy. Too many organisations have thought ‘if we open our doors people will come’ and ten years later are surprised it’s the same people coming through those doors as it always has been. Many communities underrepresented in sport aren’t ‘hard to reach’, they’re ‘hardly reached’. We need to do more to listen to them so that we understand why they haven’t engaged with the sport previously and what it will take to make them feel included.
This isn’t just about what’s morally right. There’s a powerful business case for greater diversity too. Lots of clubs are facing a cliff edge in the age of their season ticket holders, so we have to reach out to a younger, more diverse group and make football something they want to be a part of.
Sanjay Bhandari MBE
How do broadcasters support grassroots sports?
Sports broadcaster investment then plays an important role in sustaining grassroots sport. The Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Broadcasting of Major Sporting Events commits the UK’s major sporting bodies to put a minimum of 30% net broadcasting revenues back into their respective sports, and to ensure as many people can view the sport as possible.4 This necessitates that 30p of every £1 invested in sports rights is spent on:
Youth programmes
Community sports facilities
Education and training
coach education
Research and development
Volunteer training
Diversity programmes
Engagement programmes
The Code is administered and supported by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, which reported that major UK sports bodies invested a record £173.4 million from broadcast revenue into grassroots and growth of sports over the last year.
Case Study:
Investment in Grassroots Cricket
Two grants totalling £1.7m, allocated by the England and Wales Cricket Board, have enabled Bradford Park Avenue to build a state of the art covered outdoor cricket facility.
The top-quality facilities aim to deliver cricket sessions for 10,000 local people year-round and are leading the charge in the growth of Women’s and Girls’ cricket, with specific coach education and softball festival programmes supporting a new generation of female participants. The programme has led to the formation of a successful new Women’s and Girls’ cricket club, Bradford Park Avenue Ladies CC.
The ground also hosts the Yorkshire CCC-led Crick-EAT programme, providing free coaching, meals and healthy living support to kids in school holidays, increasing the accessibility of sport to those more likely to miss out on sport and its benefits due to social and economic barriers.
Sky Sports helps to make cricket accessible for everyone
Nasser Hussain
Sky Cricket Broadcaster & England Captain 1993 - 2004
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003. He has worked as cricket commentator for Sky Sports since 2004.
Offering expertise and camaraderie
Cricket is a complicated game: full of jargon and technicalities. I’ve been part of the Sky team for twenty years this summer but we’re always looking for ways to try and give new insights into what it’s like to be out in the middle.
Sky’s investment in technology and the fact we now have a channel dedicated solely to covering cricket helps a lot with that. Through our Masterclass segments we can show viewers how the players are thinking, whether that’s Andrew Strauss on how to play bouncers or the late, great Shane Warne’s thoughts about his bowling choices.
The warmth and enthusiasm of the team makes for a better viewing experience, and is what makes Sky’s coverage such a rewarding thing to be part of.
Watching the occasion, not just the game
The analysis and atmosphere has to be right, of course, but nothing beats live action. Technology has been really helpful in our efforts to do that, with systems like UltraEdge and our slow-motion cameras not just giving fans new insights into the action, but contributing to the way the game is played through things like DRS.
The technology that supports our coverage of the action helps us shine a light on the whole occasion, too. Things like the stump mics and having cameras picking up the drama in the Long Room at Lord’s last summer were part of what made the Ashes series unmissable TV.
The changing face of fandom
When I go back to Essex, there are plenty of fans there who’ve been watching since I started out thirty years ago, and that’s great. But when you look at the crowd for a game of The Hundred, it’s full of families, young people, women and kids, most of whom weren’t accessing the game before. That’s where the future of the game is.
The growth that the women’s game in particular has experienced off the back of Sky’s coverage of women’s internationals and The Hundred has been amazing. I remember coming to the Women’s World Cup Final at Lord’s in 2017 with my family and being wowed by how many families were there. We’ve come a long way even since then.
Nasser Hussain OBE
Sky Sports’ investment is driving critical innovation in cricket
Richard Gould
Chief Executive, ECB
The ECB is the sole governing body of cricket in England and Wales, and has been a proud partner of Sky Sports for nearly two decades.
Strengthening the cricket ecosystem
Every pound that Sky invests into the ECB goes straight into the cricket ecosystem. It’s allowed us to transform our stadia to state of the art, world class locations for high quality cricket. It also gives us the funding to go out and get kids to pick up a bat and a ball and try the sport out for the first time.
Since Sky’s investment into cricket began, we’ve won a men’s World Cup for the first time ever, our women’s team has been hugely successful internationally, and our test team became world number one. That’s a direct result of the investment from Sky.
Innovating to grow the sport
Viewers have so many options for entertainment, meaning we have to keep innovating and adapting to bring cricket to the largest audience possible. That’s why we launched The Hundred, a shorter, more accessible cricket tournament.
Sky was behind us from day one, and helped to co-create the whole competition. Already we’re broadening our audience and getting new audiences engaged with cricket for the first time. It’s not about replacing the old game, it’s about having different products that appeal to different audiences to make the sport as big as it can be.
Bringing communities together
Cricket in particular has a real power to bring communities together because of its global popularity. We’ve got five and a half thousand clubs around the country, and they all benefit their communities by providing that social cohesion.
The value of cricket is different for everyone. From improving children’s focus and educational attainment in the classroom to boosting girls’ confidence to pick up a bat and ball for the first time, cricket has the unique ability to bring people from all walks of life together. The bonds that are forged on the cricket field continue into adulthood, providing the social support network we all need when life’s ups and downs hit. We’ve got amazing stories from across our volunteers and that’s what makes cricket so special.
Richard Gould
Chapter Three:
HEALTHIER, HAPPIER AND BETTER CONNECTED
Why does the success of the UK’s sporting ecosystem matter? Because sports fandom offers numerous benefits that extend beyond the thrill of the game. Public First’s research affirms that engaging with sports can significantly enhance an individual’s physical and mental health, as well as fostering a stronger sense of connection across friends, families and local communities. Overall, the joys of sports fandom contributes to a healthier, happier, and more vibrant lifestyle for millions of people.
How does sports fandom help individuals to be healthier?
There has never been a more important time for us to encourage people to embrace sport and physical activity. Over a quarter of the population are currently registered as inactive, with millions performing less than five minutes of exercise a day.5
Public First’s research found that watching professional athletes can serve as valuable inspiration when it comes to our physical health, often motivating people to be more active. More than one in three UK adults say that watching sport made them take up sports or exercise for themselves.
In fact, we estimate that watching sport inspired UK adults to do a staggering 3.6 billion hours of additional exercise in 2023 alone. This is equivalent to a person running 790 million marathons, joining over 2.4 billion rugby matches or swimming the English channel 260 million times.
Equally important, Public First’s research indicates that following sport is beneficial to sports fans’ mental health. When asked to describe their feelings towards watching or engaging with sports, people were overwhelmingly positive. Sport is associated with feeling excited, happy and enthusiastic.
Which of these words would you use to describe yourself when watching or engaging with sports?
Public First’s research is clear that sports fandom can have a powerful effect on the nation’s mood. 54% of UK adults say playing, watching or being a fan of sports has had a positive impact on their mental health, rising to 65% of men.
This manifests in a variety of ways, but most notably by helping people relax in times of high stress and by helping them feel happier when things feel tough.
of UK adults said that watching sport has helped them to relax.
of UK adults said that watching sport has cheered them up when they’ve felt down.
Watching tennis inspired me to pursue it professionally.
Tim Henman
Sky Sports Broadcaster & Former Professional Tennis Player
Tim Henman is a former professional tennis player and now contributes to Sky broadcasts, using his knowledge of the game to make it more accessible to fans.
From sports fan to professional athlete
Before I was a professional tennis player, I was a fan. I first got started with tennis because I loved watching and playing it. The connection I built with the sport through watching these role models play was hugely important.
That’s why it is brilliant that tennis is back on Sky Sports. For my whole career, I’ve played in games broadcast on Sky, and now our relationship has come full circle and I’m a pundit in the studio.
Growing the sport
Sky Sports is a great asset for tennis in this country. Sports broadcasting is hugely important for growing the fan base. The two go hand in hand. A dedicated tennis channel is building tennis’ visibility and growing the sport.
British tennis is in the best shape it’s been in for a long time. Sky Sports is helping to develop the profile and skills of new British stars, and helping to build a bigger fanbase.
Making the game more accessible
Sports broadcasters like Sky play a really important role in making the game more accessible. Innovations like Hawk-Eye have been great additions to the game that allow the audience to really understand what they’re watching.
As Sky Sports pundits, we’re building on that accessibility. We’re trying to articulate what is happening on the court between the best players in the world. Great punditry is about making sure new and existing fans are both learning as they watch.
Inspiring the next generation of athletes
Tennis is such a force for good, it’s a global sport played by men and women equally. That’s a hugely positive aspect of the sport and we have to build on it. We have to make sure talent doesn’t slip through the cracks, and that we’re inspiring the next generation of young people to play. Obviously not everyone will become a professional player. But there are so many health benefits to the game, both physically and mentally.
Seeing the best tennis players in the world play is so inspiring for the next generation, it’s what inspired me. That’s what Sky does so brilliantly.
Tim Henman OBE
Sky Sports’ helping to support equality for women’s tennis
Marina Storti
Chief Executive, WTA Ventures
Marina Storti is the CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the Women’s Tennis Association and is working with Sky Sports to bring top quality coverage of women’s tennis to the UK audiences throughout the year.
Partnering with Sky
We have built up a strong partnership with Sky Sports, we are aligned in our mission to build up the profile and reach of women’s tennis. Sky brings a lot to the partnership – the number of platforms they can leverage to grow interest in the sport, along with their commitment to constant innovation to engage audiences in new ways.
We saw a step change in February when Sky launched the first ever dedicated tennis channel in the UK; now with Sky Sports+ they’re taking that a step further with a platform that gives multi-court coverage of every game of the Hologic WTA tour.
Celebrating women’s sport
When we began our partnership with Sky Sports, it was an important moment for tennis. They made a big commitment to showcasing both women’s and men’s tennis, creating a fantastic new platform for the sport. Sky sets the standards for sports broadcasting and we want to see more partners around the world follow suit with that belief and that celebration of women’s sport.
In terms of popularity, men and women’s tennis are on equal footing, and Sky’s commitment to real equality in coverage and promotion is paramount to the WTA. Offering both women’s and men’s tennis on the same platform is better for the fans and good for the sport.
Sharing powerful, personal stories
At the WTA, we want to continue pushing boundaries for women’s sport and showcasing the world’s best tennis players. Sky is an important partner in the UK to help us do that.
So much of sports broadcasting is about story-telling. Sky understands their audiences, and they can help tell stories that resonate. Their in-depth coverage and reporting gives fans a peek into the personalities and lives of the biggest stars in women’s tennis.
This helps bring UK audiences closer to athletes from diverse backgrounds, different countries, and different ethnicities. Understanding who these athletes are and what brought them to the pinnacle of tennis are essential elements of sports broadcasting now, and our partnership with Sky ensures that we are offering more of that experience to fans.
Marina Storti
How does sport bring people together?
In a world where loneliness can be a real detriment to people’s well-being, Public First’s research reaffirms that sport is an important shared experience for many families, friends – and even strangers.6 Watching together, discussing results, and anticipating the next big fixture helps sports fans to feel more connected to the people around them.
According to Public First’s research:
of UK adults agreed that playing, watching or being a fan of sports helps them connect with people.
of UK adults have gone to a friend or family member’s house to watch a sports event.
Sport often brings families together, cutting across generations. A third of UK adults follow the same sports teams or athletes as their parents or family members, and the same proportion said that sports were important to their relationships with their parents and siblings.7
Sport also gives us something to discuss with our friends and family, long after the final whistle has blown. 59% of UK adults agree that sports gives them interesting things to talk about with others, with 39% belonging to at least one online group that talks about sport. In fact, we estimate that 558 million messages are sent about sport in the UK each month, equivalent to 212 messages every single second.
And sport helps build new relationships too. Whether it’s making a friend at the pub during a game, or joining a Sunday league, sport is often a shared language between strangers.
of UK adults have met and interacted with different types of people because of sport.
UK adults have met new people or made friends because of the sports they follow.
Overall, we estimate that UK adults made almost 62 million new social connections through sport in the last year.
It’s perhaps therefore no surprise that Public First’s research found a correlation between fandom and a feeling of connectedness. The more invested you are in sports, the more likely you are to feel more connected with others and the more likely you are to have a strong network of friends.
How does sport bring the nation together?
This doesn’t stop at a local level. At a time when social divisions can run deep, Public First’s research found that sport is a major source of shared national pride in the UK. We found that:
of UK adults feel proud to be British when national sports teams do well.
of UK adults think that our sports successes are one of the UK’s proudest achievements.
Sport is therefore considered to be a strong cultural asset when engaging with strangers from overseas. Over half the population want the UK to be known for its sporting achievements. Meanwhile, 40% of UK adults reported that they have spoken about British sports teams or athletes when meeting with people from other countries.
Sky Sports is making rugby league accessible for new fans
Rhodri Jones
Managing Director, Rugby League Commercial
Rugby League’s relationship with Sky Sports is over 30 years old. This partnership has gone from strength to strength, with Sky Sports most recently committing to producing and broadcasting every single game in the Betfred Super League.
Raising the profile of the sport
Rugby League is a family game. If you went to a game today, you’d see grandparents, parents and grandchildren all coming together to watch the game in a safe environment. Our games have always been accessible to those who can make it to a stadium.
But Sky Sports has made our games accessible across the whole of the UK. It has massively increased the profile and visibility of Rugby League, and showcases that we are a major part of the national sporting landscape.
Driving new innovation
Our sport has always been at the cutting edge of innovation, and that’s been driven by our relationship with Sky Sports. We were the first sport to start using video referee, what you’d call VAR in football. We introduced that all the way back in 1996, and it was only possible because of the technology Sky Sports had made available to them.
Sky Sports also supported us when we launched our Magic Weekend concept – a full round of Super League fixtures in one venue across one weekend. It’s a festival of the Super League, and a weekend away for our fans. All six games are televised and Sky Sports have been really significant supporters of the weekend since its inception in 2007.
Investing in athletes and fans
Sky Sports has enabled hundreds of athletes to be professional sports people and live out their childhood dreams. You just have to look at some of our clubs who have invested broadcasting revenue into their clubs to see the impact.
The unique thing about Rugby League is that our clubs are in the middle of the community. It’s not just professional athletes that benefit from playing on nice pitches and having nice stadia: those stadia are community hubs.
Rhodri Jones
Sky Sports brought golf to the masses.
Dame Laura Davies
Sky Sports Broadcaster & Former Professional Golfer
Dame Laura Davies is an English professional golfer, who has won four majors over the course of her career. She now works for Sky Sports as a commentator and expert analyst.
Inspiring a new generation of golfers
Years ago, you could only really see a couple of tournaments a year. Then all of a sudden Sky came in, and you started to be able to watch more and more; it really brought golf to the masses.
This explosion in coverage has drawn youngsters to the game across the world. Being able to watch top players week in, week out – to see every single shot, and to really get to know them – has really helped to get youngsters involved in the game. Golf has become so much more popular as a result.
Engaging and entertaining the fans
Sky Sports is always trying to bring in new things to engage and entertain the fans. The technology keeps getting more advanced. For example, we can now analyse players’ swings in detail and then show exactly where shots are going. It all helps improve people’s understanding of what the pros are doing and encourages them to try things out in their own game.
Diversifying the fan base on the course
Greater exposure is also bringing more fans to the course and diversifying the fanbase – it’s no longer just the golfers that want to go and watch live. The overall package for fans is getting better, and it’s just a great day out.
Golf is a unique sport in that when you watch at the course you’re really close to the players. It’s just so nice when the fans come up and interact with you. I remember when we came back playing right after Covid, we were playing in front of nobody and you could really tell the difference, it really took away from the fun for the players.
Dame Laura Davies
Chapter Four:
GROWING THE ECONOMY
Sports catalyse economic benefits across the country. From Silverstone to Manchester, big fixtures are often synonymous with their location – bringing national, or even global, attention to a specific locale. Yet even on a smaller scale, communities often bond over a shared sporting identity. This in turn becomes an engine for equitable growth on a macro and micro scale.
How do sports fans support the economy?
When people come together to watch or play sports, they also bring their spending power.
Each ticket sold represents more than just a seat in the arena; it’s the livelihood of the groundskeepers who ensure the pitch is pristine, the maintenance staff that keep facilities operational, and the security personnel who manage the throngs of excited fans. There is a whole economic ecosystem relying on game-day revenues to sustain local jobs.
Fans also often demonstrate their commitment to their favourite teams and players by investing in the kit. On game day, spectators will be resplendent in team colours, before returning to homes bedecked with sporting souvenirs. This physical manifestation of team spirit is then a significant economic force, supporting clubs and a wide array of businesses involved in the supply chain.
UK adults have bought team merchandise for themselves or someone else in the last year.
UK adults have travelled more than an hour to watch a sporting event in the last year.
Away from the roaring crowds, millions are glued to screens, large and small. Every subscription to sports channels and streaming services supports broadcasters and media production teams to do their job. This continuous flow of revenue ensures that fans can immerse themselves in high-quality coverage, no matter where they are.
Taking this activity into account over the last year, we estimate that sports fans grew the UK economy by almost £10 billion in 2023.
How does sports broadcasting contribute to the UK’s hospitality sector?
Even when they’re miles from the action, fans will gather in their favourite bars and pubs to watch events together. These establishments buzz with energy on game days, enjoying the spillover benefits of sports-induced socialising.
Pubs equipped with a Sky Sports package can therefore reasonably expect a notable boost in revenue, particularly during key sports seasons – drawing in both regulars and new patrons who prefer to watch games in a communal environment.
This enhanced foot fall directly impacts sales of food and beverages. According to Public First’s research, one in three UK adults have been to a pub, club or bar to watch a live sports event in the last year, of which 86% ordered a drink, 58% bought snacks and 46% ordered a meal.
In total, we estimate that Sky Sports coverage generated an additional £1.1 billion for British pubs in 2023, equivalent to selling an additional 230 million pints of beer.
Sport keeps the pub industry thriving, and brings communities together
Stuart Green
Manager of The Cabbage Patch Pub
Stuart Green is the Manager of The Cabbage Patch pub in Twickenham.
Helping the pub industry succeed
Sport is a huge driver for business for pubs like mine. As an industry, we work incredibly hard to give fans the next best experience to being in the stadium, so that they want to come to watch with us.
Big games like ones at this summer’s Euros can easily triple our takings but it’s about much more than the major events. We also want to find those small groups of fans that on a Thursday night, when there isn’t a big match on, will book a table to watch Luke Littler play darts, or pop in at lunchtime to see fixtures being announced.
Anything that gets people through the door and gets them thinking about coming back is great for us, and the range of sport being shown on TV now really helps with that.
Bringing people together in the community
Sport is good for pubs’ bottom line but it’s also phenomenal for bringing people together in the community. Lots of people, especially men, come in to watch sport with their friends even though they might never go out for dinner or see them if there wasn’t a game on.
Getting people out into the community has wider benefits too. People who come into us to watch a match are then more likely to use local shops or go on somewhere for dinner, helping the whole high street.
Giving fans the best possible experience
Watching a game in the pub is no longer something just men do with a warm pint in their hand. This summer we had cocktails out in the garden along with the big screens, competitions and activities to keep the kids happy too.
People want to be around like minded fans in a friendly, fun environment so that’s what we try to provide – whether it’s a big match in the evening or opening at 7am so fans can come in and have breakfast whilst they watch one being played on the other side of the world.
Pubs are having to change all the time to stay successful and sport is a massive part of that.
Stuart Green
Chapter Five:
FANS OF THE FUTURE
Looking to the future, there is every opportunity to bring more sport to more people than ever before. As sports broadcasters such as Sky continue to grow participation and engagement, the UK can build stronger communities, promote inclusivity, and enhance national pride – thereby driving both social and economic progress.
Based on our polling data and ONS population projections we estimate that an additional 10 million people could watch sport in some form by 2034.
However, this can only be achieved through the continued innovation and investment across the whole sporting ecosystem. Everyone from sports associations and clubs through to broadcasters and policymakers will need to work in harmony to ensure that our sporting sector keeps pace with what the fans need.
Young People
It is imperative that young sports fans are encouraged to participate in sports from an early age. This ensures each new generation can derive all the benefits associated with sports fandom, including increased academic attainment, improved mental and physical health, as well as better social skills8. It also ensures that we have a strong pipeline of sporting stars, who will inspire and entertain future sports fans over the years to come.
Parents are quick to see the benefits that sports might offer their children, with 72% agreeing that sports teach children important values and lessons for life. However, only 31% have actually signed their children up to participate in sports activities. This gap highlights potential barriers to deeper involvement, which may include economic, geographical, or social factors that restrict access to sporting opportunities.
Barriers to promoting access and interest in sport among girls are particularly concerning. Women in Sport found that more than 43% of teenage girls who once considered themselves ‘sporty’, disengage from sport following primary school.9 Anxiety, body image and fear of being judged are all key factors leading to girls ‘falling out of love’ with sport which in turn represents an obstacle to growing women’s sport at a higher level.
School PE lessons are therefore an important vehicle for ensuring children – and particularly girls – from all backgrounds can participate in sport, and find a sport they love. This has been recognised by the Labour Party’s manifesto, as well as non-statutory guidance released by the Department for Education in March 2024 formally encouraging two hours of high-quality sports provision a week.10
However, the national curriculum currently only requires schools to provide one hour of sport or PE a week to pupils – and Ofsted has found that many schools struggle to even meet these requirements.11 This suggests that the government should go further to support schools in delivering high-quality PE.
Recommendation:
Use the upcoming review of the National Curriculum to double the minimum hours of PE taught in schools a week, with a particular emphasis on ensuring equal access to all school sports for girls. This should then be underpinned with a long-term commitment to the PE and Sport Premium beyond the 24/25 school year, to allow schools to make long-term investments in their sports provision.12
Grassroots
Grassroots sports are essential for fostering community spirit, and promoting healthy lifestyles – as well as nurturing future athletic talent that is foundational to the country’s future sporting success. The new government has acknowledged the “role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport”, and 73% of UK adults recognise the importance of grassroots development programmes in facilitating participation at all ages. Sports broadcasters also have a vested interest in creating the next generation of superstars, as well as the fans who watch them.
The Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) scheme is a helpful vehicle for ensuring local sports clubs can optimise their resources in order to focus investment as effectively as possible. There are currently 7,761 registered organisations across the country utilising the scheme, and thus benefiting from a range of tax reliefs.
Whilst broadcasting investment plays an important role in helping to fund grassroots sport, reforms are needed to ensure its long-term sustainability. The CASC scheme has seen little change since its inception in 2002, and the financial thresholds have not kept pace with inflation. This stagnation limits the potential growth and sustainability of these clubs, impacting their ability to thrive and expand their reach.
Lifting the financial thresholds annually in line with inflation would provide much-needed flexibility and support for clubs to do more with their money. Additionally, introducing Gift Aid on CASC and sports charity subscriptions could help to provide further resources to fund additional sporting opportunities across the nation.
Recommendation:
Reform the CASC scheme to ensure local sports clubs can capitalise on broadcaster investments and maximise spending on grassroots participation, and ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in a sport.
Diversity & Inclusion
Inclusivity in sport is crucial as it ensures that everyone, regardless of their background, ability, or identity, has the opportunity to participate and thrive. This not only enriches the sporting experience but also mirrors and enhances societal cohesion. 9 in 10 UK adults actively agree that discrimination should not be tolerated in sporting contexts.
Unfortunately, the internet continues to be a significant engine for online discrimination that manifests on social media, forums, and other digital platforms. Athletes and broadcasters, especially those from minority backgrounds, often face a barrage of racist, sexist, homophobic, and other derogatory comments. This virtual abuse can be relentless and damaging, affecting individuals’ mental health and overall well-being.
To illustrate the issue, anti-discrimination and inclusion charity Kick It Out received 1,332 reports of abuse in the 2023/24 football season – a 32% rise on the year before, and the highest number ever recorded by the organisation. Some of this is attributed to fans becoming less tolerant of discrimination and greater awareness of reporting procedures; however, it also underlines the severity of challenge at hand. Especially given that the majority of incidents go unreported.13
It should be non-negotiable that fans, players, staff, volunteers, pundits and other people engaged with sport should be treated fairly and with respect. And the new Online Safety Act offers fresh mechanisms for holding perpetrators accountable. We now need to ensure that these legislative provisions are utilised to make a meaningful difference when it comes to unwanted and damaging discrimination.
Recommendation:
Ensure Ofcom has sufficient resources to hold online platforms accountable to the provisions within the Online Safety Act, particularly regarding online abuse such as racism, misogyny and homophobia.
Community Hubs
Just as we support community spaces to play sport, we should ensure communities can come together and enjoy sports at a pub. Venues like local pubs are often a pillar of the community, providing an important space for people to gather, socialise and – often – to watch live sport on the big screen. Over a third of UK adults have been to a pub, club or bar to watch a live sports event in the last year.14
Broadcaster investment in live sport continues to give pubs and their associated supply chains the best opportunity to thrive, underpinning local economic prosperity. However, the UK’s hospitality sector has been faced with an unprecedented few years of challenges.
According to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) over 500 UK pubs closed in 2023 alone. This represents a significant blow to local high streets, and those across the population who want to gather at their ‘local’ to cheer on their favourite teams.
Meanwhile, the BBPA argues that pubs and breweries are the most heavily taxed business sector per pound of turnover in the UK, equating to 40% of UK brewing turnover and £1 in every £3 spent in pubs. As it stands, the current business rates burden is four times their relative share of overall business turnover.15
Reform is therefore critical. In recognition of the unique social value that pubs hold as community spaces, a new vision for business rates should include a lower pub or hospitality specific multiplier to address the existing tax burden, and a continuation of the current 75% relief until a new system is introduced.
Recommendation:
Permanently reduce business rates for pubs and other hospitality venues, to ensure they can continue to offer hubs for sports fans to come together and watch sports.
Enhancing Connectivity
The way we experience sports is evolving rapidly. With multiple device usage, ultra-high definition, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies, the demand for data is greater than ever. Public First’s research indicates that nearly half (42%) of UK adults now consume sports content via sports websites and apps, while a third (35%) rely on online streaming platforms, driving the need for high-speed services.
Nobody wants their internet to drop out just as the winning goal is scored. To prevent this, every corner of the UK must have access to ultrafast, low-latency, and highly reliable networks. The government’s continued support for high-speed broadband rollout is crucial to ensuring fans can follow their favourite fixtures without interruption.
This will also require a focus on adoption. Despite the expansion of full fibre networks, customer uptake remains low, and there’s a need to motivate consumers to transition to these new services. In the coming decade, we anticipate a move from linear digital broadcasting towards online-only distribution. Households must be ready for this change to continue enjoying the greatest sporting moments as they happen.
We must ensure that no one is left behind. As we once prepared for the digital transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television, policymakers must now consider the policy implications of the shift away from digital terrestrial television. A coordinated national effort is required to eliminate digital exclusion and promote digital equity, ensuring that everyone, regardless of location or background, can access and confidently use online services.
Recommendation:
Prioritise support for households that are not yet ready for the transition to an IP-based future. A coordinated initiative between Government and industry to end digital exclusion is essential, allowing everyone to engage with online-only content.
Content Protection
Intellectual Property (IP) is the lifeblood of sports broadcasters. It is the mechanism that allows broadcasters to cultivate innovative sports coverage, ensure sustained broadcaster investment into grassroots sport, and support athletes of all levels to play the sports they love.
However, IP infringement is widespread. According to the Intellectual Property Office, 36% of live sport consumers admitted infringing sports content in 2022 — a seven-percentage point increase from 2021.
This has a material impact on the sporting ecosystem. Government analysis found that IP theft is estimated to cost UK rights holders £9 billion per year. Without adequate legal protections in place, the investment that broadcasters are able to put into supporting the sporting pyramid and participation at all levels is at risk.
It is therefore vital that the Government continues to support the broadcasting sector by ensuring a robust legal and regulatory framework exists to protect IP, and that sufficient resources are given to law enforcement and regulators to police and tackle infringement.
It is also imperative that rights holders and Government can work closely with large social media platforms, video platforms and online marketplaces to efficiently and systematically remove pirated content on their sites – including technologies such as adapted TV or USB sticks that allow illicit streaming of rights holders’ content.
Recommendation:
Appoint a dedicated ‘Minister for Intellectual Property and Anti-Piracy’, responsible for leading consistent and constructive dialogue between rights holders and online platforms regarding infringed content.
Methodology
Sky’s Economic Impact
Public First used internal data provided by Sky Sports alongside its in-house economic model which draws on ONS “input-output” tables to calculate the total value added by Sky.
Additional Hours of Exercise
As part of Public First’s polling, we asked people if they were inspired to take up exercise after watching sport and how many hours of exercise they did each week. This polling allowed us to estimate the total hours of exercise each year that was inspired by watching sport.
Sports Fans’ Economic Impact
Public First’s estimate of the economic impact of sports fans is a conservative estimate of sports fans’ spending while watching sport and the supply chain (indirect) and additional demand (induced) effects of that spending.
Using Public First’s survey of UK consumers, desk research on TV subscription prices, YouGov polling on alcohol consumption,16 and the ONS Family Spending Workbook, estimates were made for sports fans’ expenditure on sports tickets, TV subscriptions, food and drink at events and in pubs/bars, and merchandise. To quantify the overall economic impact of this spending, Public First used its in-house economic model which draws on ONS “input-output” tables which detail the interrelationships between different parts of the economy.
Additional Income For Pubs
To estimate the additional income Sky generates for pubs, Public First drew on its own survey data on pub attendance and pub expenditure while watching sport alongside data by CGA and Lumina Intelligence. Two approaches were taken to calculate the total expenditure and both results considered. Sky Sports’s share of total sports broadcasting was then taken into account.
The first approach used Public First’s data survey data alongside CGA’s17 number on the increase in average monthly spending on eating and drinking out for those who watch live sports in pubs.
The second approach uses Public First’s survey data and data from Lumina Intelligence18 to establish the additional spending per trip by sports viewers. This is multiplied by the number of visits to pubs to watch sport.
Future Sport Viewership
To estimate the future number of people following sport, Public First used its polling data to calculate current sports viewership and to calculate the additional number of people likely to follow sport each year. This was combined with ONS population projection data to estimate the total sports following in 2034.