
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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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 ...
30/04/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engage...
30/04/2026
NBC Sports will air national MLB coverage on Sundays beginning May 3, with MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the debut of th...
30/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live.
Grahn joined Cle...
30/04/2026
ARRI has introduced the cforce MAX, a new lens motor for the Hi-5 lens control system. The cforce MAX is twice as fast as the cforce plus motor it replaces whil...
30/04/2026
Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE will jointly present an integrated control room solu...
30/04/2026
The CW Network and ESPN have announced an agreement to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events. CW Sports will continue to ...
30/04/2026
Ed Sheeran's The Loop' tour launched in Auckland in January 2026 before moving on to Australia, with South America and the United States to follow late...
30/04/2026
Audinate has announced Dante Preset Creator, a free online tool for configuring Dante network settings before hardware is available on site. Presets created in ...
30/04/2026
Yahoo Sports has announced the appointment of Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager of Yahoo Sports. Schwarz will oversee product, design, and technology; revenue a...
30/04/2026
Nielsen has released a new report, Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition, examining U.S. soccer viewership trends, fan engagement, and ...
30/04/2026
USA Lacrosse and SportsEngine have announced an expanded partnership, naming Spo...
30/04/2026
Telos Alliance will participate in the 2026 Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS), taking place May 13-14 at Olympia London. Rather than exhibiting from a...
30/04/2026
The global streamer buys the U.S. DTC platform solutions provider for a reported...
30/04/2026
Tigo Sports, Paraguay's leading sports broadcaster, has upgraded its video infrastructure with Ateme solutions for live encoding, multiplexing, and signal c...
30/04/2026
World Rugby and IMG have announced a long-term media rights partnership focused on growing rugby in the United States ahead of the Men's and Women's Rug...
30/04/2026
For the second year in a row, Overtime and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) are teaming up through a renewed content partnership to bring fans even...
30/04/2026
The 22-year ESPN vet's responsibilities will reportedly be taken over by SVP Mike Foss...
30/04/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
30/04/2026
Amazon and Duke University have announced a multiyear agreement for Prime Video to present exclusive coverage of three Duke Blue Devils men's basketball neu...
30/04/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
30/04/2026
Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists. In...
30/04/2026
Between April 22-29, the first inaugural Stockholm Music Week brought together thought leaders and partners across industries including music, tech, government,...
30/04/2026
Iconic large-format console upgraded
API's iconic Vision console has just been treated to an overhaul that aims to meet the demands of today's profe...
30/04/2026
Comes complete with miking accessories
The LCT 440 Pure has proven to be a popular member of Lewitt's mic line-up, offering impressive technical perform...
30/04/2026
24 October 2026 at The Octagon, Sheffield
Now in its eighth year, SynthFest UK is the largest event of its kind in the UK, bringing together the top keyboar...
30/04/2026
SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMEN...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanner...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz expands broadband amplifier portfolio with new power classes up ...
30/04/2026
Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 29, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 30, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports first quarter 2026 results.
Highlights
Orders of $7.8 billion; book-to-bill of 1....
30/04/2026
Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...
30/04/2026
STA VENERA, MALTA, APRIL 29, 2026 CPI Media, a voluntary organization within the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) and a leading media house dedicated to p...
30/04/2026
New software platform delivers comprehensive timing measurement across production workflows...
30/04/2026
Once again, the UK Pavilion in Hall 5 of BroadcastAsia 2026 will feature the latest and best in technology specifically developed and tailored for modern media ...
30/04/2026
Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...
30/04/2026
Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media.
DTV (TV 3.0) ...
30/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work.
April 29, 2026
B...
30/04/2026
Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...