
New study reveals the lengths the nation will go to catch their favorite sport, from skipping weddings to watching during work meetingsWednesday 14 August 2024
Top 10 unconventional places Brits watch sport on the sly revealed
38% have secretly streamed sporting events at work, while one in 10 have snuck away from a wedding to watch a final
Half of Brits admit to sneaking off to the loo during social events to check scores, highlighting the nations dedication to never missing a game
More than a third (36%) have used all their mobile phone data to stream sports
New study from Sky Mobile comes as the Premier League kicks off and all Sky Mobile customers can cheekily stream Sky apps, including Sky Sports, without draining their data
As the Premier League kicks off, new research has revealed the extraordinary lengths Brits will go to not miss their favourite sporting events, with many resorting to cheekily streaming games in unexpected places.
At work (38%), family events (30%) and as passengers during car journeys (25%) 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.
Even more surprising, half of us (51%) even admitted to sneaking off to the loo during social events to check scores, showcasing the depths of the nation's sporting obsession.
Shockingly, a third of workers confess to being caught watching sports events at work, with 20% watching between 3-5 hours a week on the company clock. And 30% 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%)
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 season, half (49%) of sports-obsessed people confess that theyve tried to cancel summer plans to watch sports events live, with one in 10 prepared to miss a friends wedding or a meeting at their child's school to watch a big game. Further to this, faking an illness (30%) and working late (19%) have topped the list of excuses, with 13% 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%) to staying off the internet entirely (36%), and even leaving group chats (12%).
These measures aren't surprising as research shows how devoted we are to our favourite sports. In just six months fans have watched almost a billion hours of sports on Sky* (936M hours).
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% 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%) say they have run out of data when trying to stream sports, but sport-obsessed Brits can breathe easy as all 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% more live sports via live streams, the mobile app and a dedicated new channel, all at no extra cost. The new launch offers more coverage than ever before from the EFL, both tennis Tours and men's Super League, all which Sky Mobile customers can stream via the Sky Sports app.
Notes to Editors:
For more information, please contact the Sky team on
sky@taylorherring.com / 020 8206 5151
*Data from Sky's Attention Index Report (January - June 2024), conducted with Public First polling of a representative sample of over 3,000 individuals representing every region in the UK.
Public First is a member of the Market Research Society. The full tables for all the data used in this report are available to download from Public First's website.
Sky Mobile network benefits at a glance:
99% network coverage
Roll - roll your spare data into your Sky Piggybank for use when you need it
Piggybank - share spare data in your Sky Piggybank with up to seven SIMs on your account or exchange it for rewards
Watch - enjoy hours and hours of streaming on Sky apps such as Sky Go, Sky Sports and more, without using your data allowance
Mix - Change your data plan whenever you like to suit your needs
Swap - swap to a new phone or tablet whenever you want, before your contract ends
Text to Switch - simply text PAC to 65075 to get your switching code. We'll take care of the rest
About SkySky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies and is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter. At Sky we Believe in Better. It's in our DNA.
We're famous for innovation. We offer the world's smartest TV, Sky Glass; our plug and play streaming puck, Sky Stream; the best aggregation platform, Sky Q: the best aggregation platform, Sky Q; and streaming services NOW and WOW. We provide connectivity you can count on in mobile, fast, secure, reliable residential and business broadband, as well as smart home protection through Sky Protect.
We're Europe's premium content producer. We create award-winning original content, produce the biggest live sporting events, and we provide free access to news and the arts. Our new s
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
03/04/2026
Live Vertical Video automatically track the action on the court via AI technology and delivers a fully optimized, 9 16 live feed for viewers...
03/04/2026
As the Illini make their first trip to college basketball's biggest stage si...
03/04/2026
After last summer's Softball National Championship victory and last week'...
03/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
03/04/2026
Eight games across four tournaments will be played in three venues; accommodatio...
03/04/2026
The Ottawa Senators and Bell Media have announced a long-term rights extension for regional Ottawa Senators games on TSN and RDS. TSN Radio 1200 remains the exc...
03/04/2026
Massive production in Phoenix running out of Flagship Mobile unit, Features 50+ ...
03/04/2026
Iconic guitar pedals now available in plug-in form
Guitar effects experts Electro-Harmonix have teamed up with MixWave to turn a collection of their most pr...
03/04/2026
New multi-band AUv3 plug-in announced
Fred Anton Corvest (FAC) offer an extensive range of AUv3 plug-ins and iOS/iPadOS Apps, and their multiband effects pr...
03/04/2026
Just 84 units to be released in the US
Experimental synthesizer and sound-machine extraordinaires SOMA Laboratory have revealed an upcoming special-edition ...
03/04/2026
Emulates the input section of an Ampex 350
One of the latest arrivals to the Iconic Instruments range delivers a new tube preamp plug-in inspired by the cir...
03/04/2026
New York April 2, 2026 TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-la...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/04/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, today announces the launch of its new German operation and the formati...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) today announces the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company conti...
03/04/2026
Net Insight introduces programmable Trust Boundaries that make live media interconnection predictable as traffic moves between facilities, networks and cloud en...
03/04/2026
Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intellige...
03/04/2026
NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibilit...
03/04/2026
NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances
Brie Clayton April 2, 2026
0 Comments
PlayBox Neo will showcase the latest i...
03/04/2026
For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected From touring and composition to teaching and instrument design, the in-demand percussionist sees it all as one body o...
03/04/2026
Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award The alumnus and acclaimed trumpeter is honored for his influence as a performer, composer, an...
03/04/2026
VIZ Media Lands Rumiko Takahashi's MAO, Sets April 4 Premiere on Hulu in the...
03/04/2026
Back to All News
Competition Heats Up with Intrigue and Spices: Netflix Unveils...
03/04/2026
Back to All News
Radioactive Emergency Ranks #1 On Netflix's Global Top 10 ...
02/04/2026
HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...
02/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...
02/04/2026
Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...
02/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...
02/04/2026
Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...
02/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...
02/04/2026
LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...
02/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...
02/04/2026
Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...