TV audiences for live UK Premiership football matches have fallen to their lowest level for 10 years, according to new official figures from British Audience Research Bureau. The average number of viewers watching each game so far this season has dropped to 1.048 million, a 16 per cent fall over the same period last year, sparking fears that the recent decline in gate receipts is mirrored among viewers.
The figures show a 23 per cent decline on last season's overall average of 1.356 million viewers per game. They are also the lowest average since 1994-95, when broadcasts involving England's top 20 clubs drew audiences of 973,000.
Some think viewers are confused by the increasing number of games being shown on
Sky Sports which is screening a record 138 live fixtures this season, 32 up on last year. It has a £1.024 billion (E1.5bn) three-year deal with England's top league. Analysts also point to changes in Premiership broadcasting rules which mean that smaller, less glamorous teams must be shown more often, while bigger clubs, such as Manchester United and Arsenal, appear less often.
Sky blames the Olympic Games and the Ryder Cup, which clashed with nine early season games, for part of the decline. It says that with more matches being screened, viewers are becoming more selective. The company said: 'More viewers have watched the Premiership live on
Sky Sports this year than at the same stage last year'. The total number of viewers watching live action this season so far has reached 26.14 million, a 1.12 million rise on the same period last year, but those 26.14 million have been spread over 25 games, whereas just 20 fixtures had been shown by the same stage last season.
01-11-2004
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