More than half of young people have watched illegal streams of sporting events according to the results of a recent survey.
The study involved 1,500 people, 1,000 of whom were millennials, and was conducted by SMG Insight commissioned by the BT Sport Industry Awards.
According to the figures, ‘millenials’ (those aged between 18 and 24) are far more likely not to pay for TV services than older viewers.
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54% of millennials claim to have watched illegal streams of live sports while a third say they regularly watch such streams, compared to only 4% of over-35s.
Just 12% of young people say they pay for subscriptions to services such as Sky or BT Sport, with 24% of over-35s paying for the same services.
As The Guardian reports, Chairman of the Sport Industry Group, Nick Keller, said: “Unless we are careful we will have a generation of young people who consider pirated sports content to be the norm.
“That’s a significant challenge not just for rights holders but the whole sector – from sponsors and athletes to ticketholders.
“It’s in everyone’s interests, not least the fans who enjoy a quality product, to make sure that the value of sport is maintained by delivering a quality product through the best means to appeal to the audience.”
Other revelations include 5% of millenials using online-only services such as Now TV as opposed to 2% of older viewers.
Elsewhere, 20% of millennials also claimed to not follow sport, with 9% of over-35s making the same claim.
Boxing, ice hockey, and mixed martial arts also proved to be more popular sports among millenials, with such sports as rugby league and horse racing declining in popularity.
Let us know what you make of the study in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
