Sports Fans Are Willing To Pay For TV Coverage, Finds Survey

Almost a third of people are prepared to pay subscription fees to a pay-TV operator in order to watch more football, or to access a channel that is dedicated to their favourite club. These are the findings of a GALLUP survey of 1,000 British consumers, conducted on behalf of Pace Microtechnology, the digital set-top box manufacturer.

The survey found that 31% of respondents were willing to pay extra in order to watch more football on television; 29% would buy into digital TV if their team had its own channel.

Football is by far and away the most popular of sports for television viewers according to the research; 22% of viewers would pay to see more motor racing, 17% for boxing, 13% for cricket and rugby and only 7% were interested in seeing more of that great spectator sport, fishing. The interest in pay-TV sport is weighed heavily in favour of men – 44% would like to see extra footy on TV, compared to 19% of women.

Malcolm Miller, Pace’s chief executive, said: “Among the key benefits of digital television is the ability to offer consumers more of what they want, to provide specific programming that interests them and to make special events available as pay-per-view experiences… Organisations who have a proper understanding of the entertainment potential of their offer and the commercial possibilities in the digital world will be able to generate significant revenues.”

Yesterday, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) announced that it has signed a deal to carry the Manchester United-dedicated channel, MUTV (see CWC Sign Up Man Utd TV Channel).

Pace Microtechnology: 01274 532 000