UK viewers ready to embrace summer of sport, says survey

Over 34 million UK viewers will watch sport on TV over the summer, with 30% identifying sport in HD as an important part of the experience, according to a survey by digital-terrestrial operator Freeview.

Freeview’s survey, conducted by YouGov, found that only 1% of respondents viewed either 3D or smart TVs as “important”, while 16% cited the BBC iPlayer service and 9% cited DVRs.

Approximately 14% of viewers will watch some sport on a laptop, and one in ten will watch on a desktop computer. About 5% will at some point watch sporting content on a tablet, with 7% intending to view on a smartphone.
Of those watching live sport on TV this summer, 26% expect to share their sports viewing experiences online, rising to 45% for the 25-34 age group. Some 21% of those online will share and discuss the major sporting events via Facebook.  The average British adult plans to tweet four times about the Olympics while watching the games.

Britons will watch an average of 100 minutes of sport a day on TV across the summer, according to the survey, about 37% of all viewing time. Olympic TV viewers plan to watch an average of 97 minutes of TV coverage a day, while the average Briton will watch 17% of all broadcast Euro 2012 football matches.