Sky Sports beats BT Sport in opening fixtures
August 19, 2014
Sky Sports won the ratings battle against BT Sport on the opening weekend of Premier League season.
The game between Arsenal and Crystal Palace was available to watch for free to all Sky subscribers as part of a special promotion for the opening Saturday of the season. The coverage peaked with 2.2 million (13.5 per cent) in the five minutes from 7.15pm, according to Barb data.
Manchester United got off to a losing start on BT Sport against Swansea in front of a TV audience around 500,000 smaller than Sky’s. The coverage peaked in the five minutes from 2.35pm with 1.2 million (12.7 per cent).
However, the match was well ahead of the 447,000 (5.1 per cent) attendance BT Sport generated for Liverpool’s victory over Stoke on the opening game of the 2013 season. The game peaked with 764,000 (7.7 per cent) in the five minutes from 2.30pm.