Sky Sports attracts record viewing figures for second time in two months
Sky Sports has thrived during the second national lockdown, breaking its audience records for the second time in two months.
Sunday 29 November saw an average of 1.17m viewers and a peak of 4m tune in to the Sky Sports portfolio of channels.
Drawing the record audience were a triple header of live football that included Chelsea v Tottenham, England’s second Twenty20 international in South Africa and Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Those figures eclipsed the previous record of 933,000 average audience, with a peak of 3.3m, set on Sunday 4 October.
That came on a wildly unpredictable day of football, which saw Aston Villa beat champions Liverpool 7-2.
The common denominator on both record days was a live Manchester United match that coincided with the peak viewing period.
“It’s great to see how important live sport continues to be to our customers,” said Sky Sports managing director Rob Webster.
“We are proud that Sky Sports is home to some of the biggest sporting events in the world and we remain very privileged to deliver all the drama as it unfolds to millions of viewers.”
Mixed year for sport broadcasters
Pay-TV sport channels, such as Sky Sports and BT Sport, have had a mixed year.
They were starved of live content when the Covid-19 pandemic caused sport to be paused worldwide.
But since live sport has resumed they have become more vital than ever.
With the action taking place behind closed doors, television has been the only place to see any high-profile sport.
They were caught up in the backlash against £14.95 pay-per-view football matches – somewhat unjustly, given that it was a Premier League decision.
But a second lockdown in England only encouraged people to stay on their sofas during a busy time in the sporting calendar.
As well as football, cricket and F1, Sky Sports’s record audience tuned in for live NFL.