Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Sky TV suffers fall in viewers of live Premier League games
Biggest drop in average live viewing numbers since records started in 2010
Premier League football suffered the biggest drop in viewing on Sky TV for at least seven years, raising questions over the popularity of live sports as well as the sustainability of a lucrative source of funding for English clubs.
Average viewing on Sky’s live TV channels fell 14 per cent over the past season even after it paid two-thirds more to show the matches under the latest three-year deal with the Premier League at about £10m per game.
Total viewing hours also fell 6 per cent over the course of the season for Sky, which spent a total of £4.2bn to show 126 Premier League games every year, according to figures from Sky and BT based on the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (Barb).
BT, which paid £960m for its share of the rights to show 42 games per season, recorded a more modest fall of 2 per cent in average viewing across a season in which Chelsea regained the Premier League title.
Any evidence of a sustained fall could deal a critical blow to TV networks and sport groups that have become reliant on live sport to drive revenues for their businesses.
Broadcasters are under pressure as “cord-cutters” switch off their set-top TV boxes in favour of internet-based rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile, the English Premier League’s position as one of the world richest sports leagues is based on the ever-rising value of its broadcast rights.
Despite the fall in viewing, Sky said it was encouraged that the total number of people watching Premier League coverage last season was at its highest for three years — based on people watching Premier League coverage across all its platforms for a minimum of 15 minutes.
The broadcaster pointed to a 31 per cent increase in viewing through Sky’s own streaming services Sky Go, which allows subscribers to watch on a smartphone or tablet, as well as Now TV, where football fans can buy day passes for £6.99 instead of signing up to a longer term pay-TV deal.
A spokesman for Sky said: “As we anticipated, the way customers engage with live sport is changing — with strong growth in newer, digital-first platforms — though linear viewing remains important for those big moments that matter.”
Sky said the dip in the average numbers — the worst since Barb established its current audience measurement methods in 2010 — was partly explained by the new rights deal that gave it 10 additional matches featuring smaller, less popular teams.
The European pay-TV group added that the relegation of big clubs such as Saudi Sportswashing Machine and Aston Villa in the previous season hit viewing, as did live coverage of the Rio Olympic Games on the BBC in August. At one stage in the autumn, average viewing was down by as much as 19 per cent.
While that recovered by the end of the campaign, the drop in viewing for Sky suggests a deeper shift in behaviour as broadcasters come under pressure from cheaper streaming rivals, according to analysts.
“This is complex but there is some suggestion younger viewers are watching all the other stuff available to them on multiple platforms and that the high price of subscribing to premium football is putting off subscribers,” said Mathew Horsman, an analyst with media consultancy Mediatique.
Analysts said the fall in TV viewing could add downward pressure on rights values. BT is facing huge bills to top up its pension deficit and build fibre broadband across the UK, which has raised questions over its ability to keep spending on expensive sports rights.
Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said the telecoms group had to spend in a “cost-effective and wise way” but that finding funds for this investment had not yet been an issue. In March, the company paid £1.2bn to renew its exclusive deal to show live European club football.
“The Uefa rights deal came weeks after the Italia issue was revealed,” he said, referring to a complex alleged fraud in BT’s Italian division, which led to a profit warning and a 20 per cent drop in the company’s market value in January.
“That shows the support within BT Group for BT Sport to continue in the way it has grown,” he added.
Biggest drop in average live viewing numbers since records started in 2010
Premier League football suffered the biggest drop in viewing on Sky TV for at least seven years, raising questions over the popularity of live sports as well as the sustainability of a lucrative source of funding for English clubs.
Average viewing on Sky’s live TV channels fell 14 per cent over the past season even after it paid two-thirds more to show the matches under the latest three-year deal with the Premier League at about £10m per game.
Total viewing hours also fell 6 per cent over the course of the season for Sky, which spent a total of £4.2bn to show 126 Premier League games every year, according to figures from Sky and BT based on the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (Barb).
BT, which paid £960m for its share of the rights to show 42 games per season, recorded a more modest fall of 2 per cent in average viewing across a season in which Chelsea regained the Premier League title.
Any evidence of a sustained fall could deal a critical blow to TV networks and sport groups that have become reliant on live sport to drive revenues for their businesses.
Broadcasters are under pressure as “cord-cutters” switch off their set-top TV boxes in favour of internet-based rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile, the English Premier League’s position as one of the world richest sports leagues is based on the ever-rising value of its broadcast rights.
Despite the fall in viewing, Sky said it was encouraged that the total number of people watching Premier League coverage last season was at its highest for three years — based on people watching Premier League coverage across all its platforms for a minimum of 15 minutes.
The broadcaster pointed to a 31 per cent increase in viewing through Sky’s own streaming services Sky Go, which allows subscribers to watch on a smartphone or tablet, as well as Now TV, where football fans can buy day passes for £6.99 instead of signing up to a longer term pay-TV deal.
A spokesman for Sky said: “As we anticipated, the way customers engage with live sport is changing — with strong growth in newer, digital-first platforms — though linear viewing remains important for those big moments that matter.”
Sky said the dip in the average numbers — the worst since Barb established its current audience measurement methods in 2010 — was partly explained by the new rights deal that gave it 10 additional matches featuring smaller, less popular teams.
The European pay-TV group added that the relegation of big clubs such as Saudi Sportswashing Machine and Aston Villa in the previous season hit viewing, as did live coverage of the Rio Olympic Games on the BBC in August. At one stage in the autumn, average viewing was down by as much as 19 per cent.
While that recovered by the end of the campaign, the drop in viewing for Sky suggests a deeper shift in behaviour as broadcasters come under pressure from cheaper streaming rivals, according to analysts.
“This is complex but there is some suggestion younger viewers are watching all the other stuff available to them on multiple platforms and that the high price of subscribing to premium football is putting off subscribers,” said Mathew Horsman, an analyst with media consultancy Mediatique.
Analysts said the fall in TV viewing could add downward pressure on rights values. BT is facing huge bills to top up its pension deficit and build fibre broadband across the UK, which has raised questions over its ability to keep spending on expensive sports rights.
Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said the telecoms group had to spend in a “cost-effective and wise way” but that finding funds for this investment had not yet been an issue. In March, the company paid £1.2bn to renew its exclusive deal to show live European club football.
“The Uefa rights deal came weeks after the Italia issue was revealed,” he said, referring to a complex alleged fraud in BT’s Italian division, which led to a profit warning and a 20 per cent drop in the company’s market value in January.
“That shows the support within BT Group for BT Sport to continue in the way it has grown,” he added.
