Sky Sports announces 6% audience increase in first half of football season amid BT Sport rivalry
Sky Sports has reported a six per cent increase in audience for the first half of the football season as its battle with new rival BT Sport continues.
Figures: Sky Sports has a new rival
Overall for 2013, the service reported a 12 per cent rise in sport coverage with 55,000 hours broadcast across six channels and Sky 3D, and a record 30 million unique browsers a month on Sky Sports online from mobile and tablet devices.
Rival BT Sport launched in August, just ahead of the new football season, and offered the service free to BT broadband customers in an attempt to pull viewers away from Sky.
However, after the first 50 Premier League matches this season, Sky said its audience had increased by six per cent year on year.
Barney Francis, managing director for Sky Sports, said: “We are offering more sport, more choice and more reasons to watch Sky Sports than ever before.
“Our viewers can enjoy unrivalled sport across six channels, our mobile and digital platforms and while 2013 was the best year yet, we’re sure 2014 will be even better.”
The broadcaster also reported a rise in women’s sport coverage in 2013, up by 40 per cent year on year.
Overall, football was the most televised sport across the channels at 8,462 hours, followed by golf (5,072 hours) and cricket (4,711 hours).
Among Sky Sports’ 2013 highlights were a new five-year partnership with David Beckham and securing rights agreements for more than 30 events, including Euro 2016 and the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
However, the broadcaster was beaten by BT Sport in the race to secure Champions League broadcasting rights in November.