Average audiences for English Premier League football matches suffered a significant drop on pay-television during the 2016-17 season, but increased markedly on streaming services.
The Financial Times newspaper said that pay-television broadcaster Sky, the primary live rights-holder for the league in the UK, registered a 14-per-cent fall in viewing figures on its television channels, with total viewing hours also slumping by six per cent.
Telecommunications company BT, the other live rights-holder in the UK, saw average viewing fall by two per cent.
However, Sky said that the total number of people watching Premier League coverage was its highest in three years, while there was a 31-per-cent increase in viewing through the Sky Go streaming service.
“As we anticipated, the way customers engage with live sport is changing – with strong growth in newer, digital-first platforms – though linear viewing remains important for those big moments that matter,” a Sky spokesperson told the newspaper.