Sky Report Shows the Lengths the Sports Obsessed Will Go To
Have you sneaked off from work, a social event, or even a wedding to watch sports on your mobile? Data from a Sky Mobile survey of 2,000 people suggests you are not alone. The broadcaster recently published the findings of a new poll that reveals the extraordinary lengths Brits will go to so as not to miss their favorite sporting events.
As more people confess to going to extreme lengths to watch sports, Sky has declared it will broadcast more football than ever before during the 2024/25 season. ©Sky
Promoted by the broadcaster to coincide with the 2024/25 Premier League’s kick-off, the poll shows 38 percent of the people surveyed confirmed they had secretly streamed sporting events at work. Shockingly, a third of workers confessed to being caught watching sports events at work, with 20 percent watching between 3-5 hours a week while on the company clock.
The Cheek of the Dedicated Sports Fan
A whopping 30 percent of those polled admitted to canceling meetings and missing important deadlines to catch coverage of their favorite sport. Even more surprising, 51 percent admitted to sneaking off to the restroom during social events to check scores. The startling figures showcase the scale of the nation’s sporting obsession.
Many people say they have resorted to cheekily streaming games in unexpected places. The top 10 unconventional places where Brits watch sports using Sky Mobile are:
- At work (38%)
- During a family event (30%)
- In the car (25%)
- In the toilet (21%)
- In a hospital waiting room (17%)
- During a friend’s birthday party (15%)
- During a meeting (9%)
- At a wedding ceremony (8%)
- During Christmas dinner (8%)
- In the garden shed (8%)
Ahead of the start of the Premier League season, almost half (49 percent) of sports-obsessed people confess that they have tried to cancel summer plans to watch sports events live, with one-in-10 prepared to miss a friend’s wedding or a meeting at their child’s school to watch a big game. Furthermore, faking an illness (30 percent) and working late (19 percent) have topped the list of excuses. Thirteen percent had claimed a family emergency.
A Billion Hours Looms Large
Referencing the poll’s findings, Amber Pine, Managing Director of Sky Connectivity, said: “We’re a nation of sports lovers, and many Brits are streaming sports on the go as our research shows major soccer matches drive a 13 percent spike in mobile data usage.”
Data from Sky’s Attention Index Report, conducted with Public First polling of a representative sample of over 3,000 individuals representing every region in the UK, shows fans have watched almost a billion hours (936 million hours) of sports on Sky during the first six months of 2024.
