Online sports consumption now second only to TV

Online has overtaken print media for the consumption of sports content, according to a new report.

According to the Know The Fan – The Global Sports Media Consumption Report 2014 from Perform, Kantar Media and SportBusiness Group, this marks the first time online has overtaken print in all markets surveyed, making it second only to TV as a vehicle for sports content.

The most notable growth for online sports has been in western Europe. Mobile consumption of sport in Italy is now 50%, compared to 37% in 2013. In Spain, mobile devices are used by 46% of fans to follow sport this year, which compares to 39% in 2013 and 20% in 2011.

According to the report, approximately three-quarters of fans that use computers/laptops and three-quarters of fans that use mobile devices access content at least once a week.

The report covers 16 global markets, 14 of which – Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, the UK, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the US – were monitored last year, whilst South Africa and the UAE are covered for the first time in 2014. In all markets 1,000 interviews were conducted online in February 2014.