The UK Spectator Sports Market Report examines the UK adults’ experience of watching live spectator sport, either at an event venue or broadcast via television or the internet. The report covers market dynamics, including market size and segmentation, and the latest consumer trends shaping the future of the spectator sports industry.Â
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on spectator sports
- How other sports can step out of football’s shadow
- The value of major events
- The implications for viewing and spectating habits of demographic change
- The importance of fandom
- What fans think about ethics in sport
- How new events can find space in a crowded market
UK Spectator Sports Industry – Current Landscape
A combination of fewer major events and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis will reduce attendance spending in 2024, with lower-tier sports most at risk. Football attendances are more than seven times greater than those of horseracing, the next most popular sport. Over the next five years, improving economic conditions will support stronger spending on event attendance before the UK and Ireland’s hosting of EURO 2028 boosts market value ahead of the event.
- UK spectator sports market size:Â Consumer spending on spectator sports attendance is estimated to have increased by 2.3% in 2023.
Purchase the full report to learn more about the UK Spectator Sports Market, complete with consumer insights and innovation and marketing trends. Readers of this report may also be interested in UK Major Sporting Events Market Report 2023.
Additional Features Included in your Purchase
- Interactive Databook:Â Each Databook is provided as an interactive website where you can deep dive into our consumer research data on your chosen topic so you can draw your own conclusions.
- Consumer Confidence Tracker: Our Trackers paint the picture of the economic confidence and major concerns of up to 40 different demographics, tracking changes in attitudes over time.
- Custom PowerPoints: Incorporate our consumer research data into your own work so you can win over your clients and stakeholders. Select insights from your report to create a custom presentation that is ready to download in minutes.
- Different Digital Formats:Â PDF for conveniently sharing with your team, PowerPoint for quickly including in your presentations.
- Mintel’s Clients Portal: Our portal provides instant access to actionable analysis, podcasts, and trend pieces relevant to your industry that are published almost daily, as well as our annual Global Consumer Trends. You can also browse our extensive catalogue of market research reports.
Expert Analysis from an Industry Specialist
This report, written by David Walmsley, a leading analyst in the sport and leisure sectors, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK spectator sports market and add expert context to the numbers.
Sports beyond football could be challenged by new properties that are freer to innovate in formats, presentation and – above all – accessibility.
David Walmsley
Research Analyst
Collapse All
-
- Key issues covered in this Report
-
Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the spectator sports market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: leading spectator sport segment attendances, 2022/23
- Graph 2: financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Graph 3: Peak viewing figures for major sporting events, 2022/23
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: experience of live sport, 2018-23
- Graph 5: sports fans, 2023
- Graph 6: sports watched live, 2022 and 2023
- Graph 7: methods of watching live sport, 2023
- Graph 8: attitudes towards ethics in sport, 2023
- Graph 9: awareness of new spectator sports events within Gen Z, 2023
- Graph 10: incentives to watch new spectator sports events, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
-
Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Market forecast
- Graph 11: consumer expenditure on spectator sports attendance, 2010-14
- Market segmentation
- Graph 12: English league football attendances, 2018/19-2022/23
- Graph 13: horseracing attendance, 2018-23
- Graph 14: English cricket attendance, 2018-23
- Graph 15: English Premiership rugby union attendance, 2017/18-2022/23
- Graph 16: Super League attendance, 2018-23
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 17: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 18: financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 19: financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Graph 20: past-year spectator sports event attendance, by household income, 2023
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 21: peak viewing figures for major sporting events, 2022/23
- Graph 22: leading football clubs’ capital expenditure, 2021/22
- Graph 23: projected age structure of the 15+ population, 2028
- Graph 24: repertoires of sports watched live, by age, 2023
- Graph 25: technology-based activities undertaken at a live sport event, 2023
- Graph 26: interest in using smart glasses to access real-time data when watching sport, by experience of live sport in the last 12 months, 2023
-
What Consumers Want and Why
- Sports followers
- Graph 27: experience of watching live sport, by gender, 2018-23
- Sports fans
- Graph 28: sports fans, 2023
- Graph 29: attitudes towards ethics in sport, by fan status, 2023
- Sports watched
- Graph 30: sports watched live, 2022 and 2023
- Graph 31: spectator sports viewing repertoires, by gender, 2023
- Methods of watching
- Graph 32: methods of watching live sport, 2023
- Graph 33: past-year experience of watching live sport on smartphones, 2023
- Graph 34: methods of watching live sport, by age, 2023
- Graph 35: methods of watching live sport, by annual household income, 2023
- Sport and ethics
- Graph 36: attitudes towards ethics in sport, 2023
- Graph 37: agreement with statements about ethics in spectator sports, by age, 2023
- Interest in new events
- Graph 38: awareness of new spectator sports events within Generation Z, 2023
- Graph 39: awareness of new spectator sports events among Younger Millennials (aged 27-33), 2023
- Incentives to watch new events
- Graph 40: incentives to watch new spectator sports events, 2023
- Graph 41: appeal of affordable ticket prices as an incentive to watch new spectator sports events, by gender and age, 2023
- Graph 42: involvement of celebrities/influencers as an incentive to watch new spectator sports events, by age and gender, 2023
-
Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
-
Appendix
- Supplementary data
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
Mintel: Market Intelligence Made Easier
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
- Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the market: Mintel reports blend consumer research, market forecasts, product innovation tracking, and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to see every angle of their industry and identify new opportunities quickly.
- Make decisions with confidence, grounded in robust data: Each report draws on up-to-date, reliable information from trusted sources and industry experts, ensuring your strategies are based on solid evidence rather than speculation.
- Benefit from expert analysis and practical recommendations: Mintel’s reports are written by experienced analysts who interpret complex data and provide clear, actionable insights you can trust to guide your next moves.
- Stay ahead with actionable intelligence on market trends and consumer behaviour: By combining fresh research with long-term market monitoring, our reports help businesses anticipate changes and adapt strategically. So you’re prepared to make informed decisions and drive growth.
What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
- Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
- Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
- Trade Research: Insights from conversations with industry experts. Their real-world experience helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
- Brand and Social Media Research: Analysis of online opinions and trends. This lets us spot trends, measure brand sentiment, and capture feedback in real time, adding further depth to our research.
For further information about our research and analysis methods, visit our helpdesk.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
For a closer look at a Mintel Market Intelligence Report, take a look at the sample PDF report below:
Please Note: All of the figures, graphs, and tables in this sample report have been redacted.
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
-
Download today with instant access
Pay via credit card or purchase order
-
Multiple formats provided
We send a PDF, Powerpoint and Excel Databook straight to your inbox. An interactive version of the report is also available on our online platform
-
Interactive databook included
Focus on the data that matters most to you with a customisable databook avaliable on our platform
-
Save 10% on all orders with the code INSIGHTS2026
Offer available until the end of December only
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn moreTrusted by global industry leaders
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Stephen Taylor-Brown, Managing Director, Abacus
We use Mintel to inform our thinking and reinforce strategy. If you’re presenting new ideas, it’s essential they are underpinned by robust data and evidence, and clearly rooted in fact.
Mintel gives us all that. It’s a great brand and one that is trusted by clients.
Marie Stafford, European Director, The Innovation Group, VML
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
They’re an innovative company, with a client-focused team that always delivers.
Abby Carvosso, Group Managing Director, Bauer Media Group
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
Ngozi Ngonadi-Nkwoji, Senior Marketing Manager, Amazon
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
Pauline Robson, Managing Partner, Mediacom
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn more
