Menu
Media

Football TV Viewership In Sharp Decline, Gadfly Analysis Says

Halfway through the season, Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte is "running ahead of rivals" in first place in England's top football league, according to He & Abboud of BLOOMBERG. The Italian also "stands out in another way: his team is the only one of the major teams whose television viewership has risen this season." Elsewhere, the "trend of fewer people tuning in to the country's biggest sport that was detected earlier this season has been confirmed," according to a Gadfly analysis of data from the U.K. Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Average viewership per game at the halfway point of the season is down 11% from a year earlier, and down 22% since '10-11. This is better than the 14% season-on-season slump in the first 10 weeks of the season, "but still not much to cheer about." Oddly, the decline comes as the competition itself is "thriving" with five teams chasing Chelsea, "any one of which could arguably snatch the title by May." Attendance at games is "up slightly" and teams are "raking in more money than ever" because of a "huge bump" in broadcast fees. The "pain will be felt more at Sky," Europe's pay-TV leader, than BT Group, which broadcasts fewer games per week and is expanding from a lower base. Sky's average viewers per match are down 13% from last year, and 25% from '10. BT's average has "ticked up" 3% this year, though that comes from its "better time slot on a Saturday night." None of this is "particularly good news" for Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, which is buying the 60% of Sky it does not own for a proposed £11.7B ($14.1B). Live sport from Formula 1 racing to rugby has been "a crucial way for Sky to get people to sign up." The declines are "more than a blip." The "direction of travel is clear and persistent" across time slots and teams going back five years. The decline "can be seen too" in the U.S. at the "big daddy of live sports," the NFL. When both "footballs" are "struggling" for attention like this, "you have to wonder whether the game is up" (BLOOMBERG, 1/16).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/01/17/Media/Soccer-TV-Viewership.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/01/17/Media/Soccer-TV-Viewership.aspx

CLOSE