TV turn-off

Decline in popularity of televised football

Figures collated by the British Audience Research Bureau (BARB) suggest that the popularity of watching Premiership football on television is in decline.

BARB indicate viewing figures for Premiership matches so far this season are down dramatically on last season and are at their lowest for ten years.

Information published by The Observer newspaper this week shows the following key points:

- 8.9%: The drop in audiences for the BBC’s Saturday night Match of the Day so far (up to last weekend), compared with ITV’s The Premiership last season.

- 227,000: The average number of viewers watching SKY’s highlights package. On Saturday nights, SKY’s interactive Football First: Match Choice show - offering viewers a 55-minute version of all Premiership games played that day.

- 138: The number of live SKY games this season - 32 more than last season. They’ve screened 25 already - compared with 20 this time last season.

- 1.048million: The average audience for the live games this season: down from 1.251m in the same period last season. That’s an average 16.23% drop per game, and a 22.72% drop on last season’s overall average of 1.356m.

- 11%: The average audience share for each live SKY game this season. That’s down from 19% last season.

- Nine of the 25 games shown live by SKY so far have attracted an audience share of 6% or less; only one match gained such a tiny share in the same period last season

- 409,000: The lowest audience so far this season - for Bolton v Birmingham on Saturday 25 September at 5.15pm (a 4% audience share).

- 568,000: Last season’s lowest live TV audience - also for Bolton v Birmingham in October 2003. This season five games have attracted the same, or fewer, viewers. (Palace v Chelsea (568k), Newcastle v Norwich (498k), Portsmouth v Palace (466k), Bolton v Birmingham (409k) and Palace v Fulham (568k).