The latest SportTracker survey - last conducted in 1996 - also sees a widespread drop in public interest for all sports with the exception of soccer and swimming.
Says Mori's head of sports research, Peter Hasler: “This is a worrying trend for sport and its sponsors.
“The TV following for every sport except football has dropped or remained static in the last seven years – probably because only two in five people have access to digital TV, which is where sport is increasingly broadcast. General interest in all sports except swimming and football has also fallen.”
Two-fifths (42 percent) of the UK public claim an interest in football, as they did in 1996. Swimming comes second, with three in 10 people showing interest compared to two in 10 just seven years ago. Rugby league and snooker have seen the greatest decline, with drops in interest of 10 per cent and nine per cent respectively.
Football continues to win the biggest TV following, with two-fifths (42 percent), including three in five men, watching regularly – an increase of four per cent.
Second-placed tennis is still watched by one in five people, but boxing and rugby league have seen their TV following dwindle by more than a third.
Participation in sport remains broadly static. Swimming is still the nation’s favourite with one in five people (including 27 percent of all women) participating regularly – a one-third increase on 1996. One in 10 people still play football and one in 20 snooker and golf.
