The Popularity of Sports in UK Underlined by Sky’s Latest Figures
Brits consumed 16 billion hours of content on Sky in 2024. Football is the king of sports, but F1’s popularity grew and Darts surged.
Sky is riding high on sports, with Darts being its new lovechild. © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- Nine hundred fifty million hours of sport watched on Sky during the second half of 2024.
- Sky attracted 1.5 billion YouTube views in 2024.
- Darts viewing up by an incredible 57%.
- British F1 Grand Prix was the most-watched European race ever.
The latest data produced by Sky reveals that during the final six months of 2024, sports fans watched nearly 950 million hours of sport on Sky TV channels. Football topped the broadcaster’s popularity chart as the most-watched sport, followed by cricket.
Sky is also thriving on digital platforms. Ten consecutive years of growth on YouTube and a 7% year-on-year (2023-24) increase resulted in 1.5 billion views on the platform during 2024. Sky Sports’ Premier League YouTube channel, which boasts 5.45 million subscribers, led the way with 822 million views.
Viewing Habits Change, but Sky Sports Thrive
“As viewer preferences evolve, the TV landscape is transforming,” says Sky in its ‘Attention Index – How We Watch and Connect’. “No longer are viewers passive recipients of pre-scheduled programming; they have become active curators of their own entertainment experiences.”
“In other words, the difficulty today is not lack of choice but instead crafting an engaging and cohesive TV experience. Viewers must navigate an unprecedented array of linear channels, streaming services and social media platforms to construct their personal viewing schedule.”
“The latest data reveals that while viewing is up, the content people consume is increasingly fragmented as audiences shift away from pre-scheduled broadcasting and instead move to on-demand viewing.”
Darts on TV Hits the Target
In the report, Jonathan Licht, Managing Director of Sky Sports, added, “2024 was an extraordinary year for Sky Sports. We secured major sports rights until the end of the decade, forged ground-breaking partnerships, and launched Sky Sports+ across TV and app.”
“Over the last six months of the year, the nation spent nearly 950 million hours watching sports with us, with football leading the charge as our most-watched sport. The thrill of Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship victory was unforgettable, and darts viewership soared by an impressive 46%”
Figures Grow Across the Board
Darts’ surge in popularity intensified as 2024 progressed, with fifty-six million hours of darts consumed in the second half of the year. Since the Premier League Darts season started in February 2024, overall viewing was up by an incredible 57%.
Several other tournaments also saw strong year-on-year viewership growth, including the World Cup of Darts (up by 74%) and Grand Slam of Darts (22%). Luke Littler’s victory in the World Championship final at the start of 2025 became the second most-watched non-football event ever on Sky Sports. Sky and PDC Darts will be partners until at least the end of 2030.
There is little wonder why the Professional Darts Corporation has announced that the total prize money at all PDC events will soon rise by £7 million to £25 million annually, and online betting sites are scrambling to sponsor the sport’s biggest competitions.
F1 Remains on Track in the UK
Formula 1 is another sport that continues to captivate Sky Sports’ audiences. 2024’s British Grand Prix was the most-watched European race ever. It drew an average of 2.19 million viewers and peaked at 2.33 million.
Four other races also had their biggest-ever Sky audience during 2024: The United States Grand Prix, Belgium, Azerbaijan and Mexico all averaged between 1.5 and 1.9 million viewers. Two hit peak numbers of over two million viewers.
Live viewing hours for Formula 1 on Sky increased by 3% year-on-year, reaffirming the sport’s steadily increasing appeal amongst Britain’s. However, figures released by ESPN in December 2024 indicate the sport is not as popular with American viewers. Across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC 2024’s races attracted an average of 1.1 million viewers.
New Phones No Bones
Sky has also produced some remarkable information on mobile use, showing that one in four UK adults – equivalent to more than 13.5 million people – made a purchase on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Among them, 40% opted for a new smartphone, while 32% invested in a new computer.
One in three UK adults plan to Upgrade their mobile device in the next six months, while two-thirds of UK adults admit they only replace their televisions when they break or stop working.
