Survey: 38% have secretly streamed sport at work
August 14, 2024
As the new Premier League readies for kick off, research has revealed the lengths Brits will go to not miss their favourite sporting events, with many resorting to streaming games in unexpected places.
At work (38 per cent), family events (30 per cent) and as passengers during car journeys (25 per cent) have topped the list of a Sky Mobile survey of 2,000 UK adults as the most common occasions people have slipped away to catch a glimpse of sporting action. Perhaps more surprising, half of Brits (51 per cent) even admitted to sneaking off to the loo during social events to check scores.
A third of workers confess to being caught watching sports events at work, with 20 per cent watching between 3-5 hours a week on the company clock. And 30 per cent have admitted to cancelling meetings and missing important deadlines to catch their favourite sport.
The top 10 unconventional places Brits watch sports from Sky Mobile:
- At work (38 per cent)
- During a family event (30 per cent)
- In the car (25 per cent)
- In the toilet (21 per cent)
- In a hospital waiting room (17 per cent)
- During a friend’s birthday party (15 per cent)
- During a meeting (9 per cent)
- At a wedding ceremony (8 per cent)
- During Christmas dinner (8 per cent)
- In the garden shed (8 per cent)
Ahead of the start of the Premier League season, half (49 per cent) of sports-obsessed people confess that they’ve 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. Further to this, faking an illness (30 per cent) and working late (19 per cent) have topped the list of excuses, with 13 per cent claiming a family emergency.
Brits have admitted to some extreme tactics to avoid spoiling important game results before they have a chance to catch up, from avoiding social media (45 per cent) to staying off the internet entirely (36 per cent), and even leaving group chats (12 per cent).
These measures aren’t overly surprising as research shows how devoted fans are to their favourite sports. In just six months fans have watched almost a 936 million hours of sports on Sky.
Amber Pine, Managing Director of Sky Connectivity, said: “We’re a nation of sport lovers and many Brits are streaming sports on the go as our research shows major football matches drive a 13 per cent spike in mobile data usage, which is why at Sky Mobile we don’t want fans to miss a moment, and customers can stream all Sky apps including Sky Sports and Sky Go without using their data.”
Revealing the extent of the problem, more than a third (36 per cent) say they have run out of data when trying to stream sports, but Sky Mobile customers can stream Sky apps, including Sky Sports, Sky Go, Sky News and more without dipping into their data.
As the football season begins, fans will have even more sport to stream as Sky Sports+ gives access to 50 per cent more live sports via live streams, the mobile app and a dedicated new channel, all at no extra cost.