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Despite financial pressures, 82% of UK TV consumers will maintain, or increase, spend on sports viewership over the next year a study from consumer insights provider Toluna has revealed.
Sky BT 21Feb2020 1
The study, Economic Outlook for Technology, Media, Telecoms, and Entertainment Sector explored the impact of the current economic turbulence on consumer behaviours and spending in the technology, media, telecoms and entertainment sectors.
The good news is that a deep dive into sports viewership uncovered resilient levels of consumer spending that bucked wider viewing trends. A third of UK consumers were reducing their spend on subscription-based video-on-demand services due to the cost-of-living crisis, with respondents aged 18-34 being the most likely to do so (47%). However, sports viewers remain willing to spend on watching games and events, particularly younger demographics.

Against a backdrop of consumers minimising their monthly outgoings on paid-for content. Over eight in 10 sports viewers plan to spend the same or more on watching sports content in the year ahead and monthly subscriptions were the preferred form of payment for 58% of sports viewers, driven by respondents aged 18-34 (78%).

The research also showed consumer expenditure on sports viewership has also shifted slightly in the past 12 months, with spend on watching sports via video-on-demand services increasing by 2% and spend on satellite TV dipping by 4%. An almost equal proportion of sports viewers use video-on-demand services (57%) and satellite TV services (60%) to watch sports at least once a month. Additionally, the average sports viewer currently spends £270 per year to watch sports content on TV or online.

“Accessing sports content ranks high on UK consumers’ leaderboard of priorities, as evidenced by their willingness to spend on viewership even while two-thirds believe they are financially worse off than they were a year ago,” commented Denholm Scotford, sector head, TMTE at Harris Interactive, Toluna’s research arm. “Sport continues to be a cultural cornerstone, allowing brands to engage with consumers through content and events which truly matter to them.

Looking forward, the study noted that sports fans expect to spend less on watching live sporting events in person this year compared to last year, with expenditure on this predicted to drop 12%. Just over a quarter UK consumers who attend events in person believe they will go to fewer games or matches in the coming year, driven by women and respondents aged 35 and over. This is compared with 56% of sports fans who plan to attend the same amount of events and 17% who plan to watch more events in person.