380 MATCHES, ATTENDED BY 13,741,982 FANS, SCREENED IN 730,000,000 HOUSEHOLDS, ACROSS 225 TERRITORIES. IN HOME. OUT OF HOME. ON TV, COMPUTER, TABLET AND MOBILE. 7 DAYS A WEEK, 10 MONTHS A YEAR. THE MOST WATCHED LEAGUE IN THE WORLD, BY THE MOST ENGAGED FANS IN NUMBERS Market case studies: IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS UK p14-15, USA p16-17, OF GROUNDBREAKING India p20-21, China p22-23, Thailand p24-25, NEW RESEARCH IN Malaysia p26-27, Nigeria p30-31, NINE KEY MARKETS South Africa p32-33, p34-35 premierleague.com Introduction 3

Research focused on nine key markets including the world’s three most populous nations - China, India and the USA - plus Africa’s biggest country, Nigeria, as well as Malaysia, A WHOLE NEW Thailand, Norway, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The range of engagement by fans in contrasting regions is extraordinary but the conclusion is the same everywhere. WORLD OF A significantly larger number of people are watching live Premier League matches than conventional measurement tools have ever picked ENGAGEMENT up before.Using a baseline number of those watching in the home on television (IHTV), the uplift in the real More people in more places are engaging total viewing figures ranges from 45% with the Premier League in more ways than in the UK to 154% in China. In other words, for every 100 fans ever before. In a significant step for the known to be watching at home on TV global sports industry, new independent in the UK, another 45 are watching in other ways. And for every 100 watching research conducted by Repucom quantifies IHTV in China, another 154 are precisely how. Nick Harris explores how watching in others ways on top. The standard global currency of increasing numbers of fans are tuning in not audience measurement is IHTV data. just at home on television but out of home, It is a reliable product, one that broadcasters and advertisers online and via mobile devices. understand, one collated and published by respected, authoritative agencies such as BARB in the UK, by Nielsen in the USA and elsewhere, and so on. It will tell you a programme average (the average number watching at any point throughout the show), the peak (the maximum watching at any one time) and the reach (different people watching at some point). But it doesn’t tell you how many more people are watching a programme at home but on a PREMIER LEAGUE VIEWER NUMBERS LIVE MATCHES 2014/15 computer, tablet or other mobile MARKET CAPTURED NON-CAPTURED REAL TOTAL UPLIFT device. Nor does it tell you how many (IN HOME, ON TV) (ALL OTHER) are watching on a TV or big screen in a China 41,746,100 64,370,918 106,117,018 154% public place, like a pub or social centre. Nigeria 21,769,300 32,066,053 53,835,353 147% Nor how many are watching ‘out of

Thailand 40,611,900 28,022,394 68,634,294 69% home’ but not on a TV or public screen, but on a laptop or mobile India 13,295,700 14,613,137 27,908,837 110% device, whether at work, on the move USA 106,066,700 108,218,200 214,284,900 102% or elsewhere. Malaysia 22,960,400 16,748,914 39,709,314 73% In an increasingly mobile world, Norway 5,279,700 2,738,719 8,018,419 52% consumption patterns are changing

S Africa 26,897,600 12,450,033 39,347,633 46% fast. This new data, unprecedented in scope, provides the most UK 183,739,200 81,797,751 265,536,951 45% comprehensive insight yet about how.

Notes on methodology: Repucom surveyed 9,000 fans across NINE key markets in April and May 2015 to capture viewership behaviours of live Premier League matches. Respondents were asked to recall their behaviours in relation to the previous round of matches, stating which they had watched, where, with whom, and on what device. Information was gathered for 43 Live Premier League games in total. Claimed IHTV data (those watching at home on TV) was calibrated against official ‘captured’ audience numbers for respective matches. Projections were then made to account for the size of the non-captured audience (those watching at home but not on TV, plus all out-of-home viewers). All data provided by the Premier League, Repucom, Populus and other sources as referenced. 4 Sportcal Insight Barclays Premier League premierleague.com Football first 5 131,000 YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE BENEFITTED FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S KICKS PROJECT SINCE IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2006, INCLUDING PLAYERS SUCH AS AND WILFRIED ZAHA

ive broadcasts to viewers L in hundreds of millions of homes across every continent make the Premier IT’S ALL ABOUT League a truly global phenomenon from Los Angeles, and to Montreal, Manchester and Mumbai via Sao Paulo, Southampton, Shanghai and all THE FOOTBALL points in between. The League provides compelling The Premier League is widely regarded content for broadcasters and huge exposure for sponsors all year, every as the world’s most popular and exciting year, and it hasn’t become the football league. It offers compelling, world’s league by accident. Since its formation in 1992, the League’s competitive football, played in full and ‘football first’ approach has vibrant stadiums by a cosmopolitan cast of underpinned its development. Investment in stadiums, facilities many of the world’s finest players. and talent - including managers and coaches as well as players - has generated increasing demand and interest in the League in what has become a ‘cycle of growth’ now well into a third decade. The existence of that virtuous cycle was identified in an economic impact analysis of the League by EY (Ernst & Young) in May 2015, which highlighted how the increasing appetite for the League has been converted into commercial Premier League Kicks: success and sustainable growth, at Inspiring young people through football home and abroad. This in turn has allowed equitable Premier League Kicks began in 2006 and uses the distribution of the proceeds to appeal of professional football clubs to engage benefit wider football development young people from challenging communities in and communities. This delivers regular football, sport and personal development greater investment in stadiums, activities. Fifty Premier League and Football League facilities and talent. clubs now deliver Kicks at more than 800 sites – with Thus the cycle of growth, as EY more than 56,000 young people benefitting last year. attests, has led to the Premier Since its launch, Premier League Kicks has engaged League developing football “into a more than 131,000 young people, with 75% of Kicks sport that is more attractive and projects delivered in the top 30% most deprived areas accessible to the public” in the UK in the country. and around the world. 6 Sportcal Insight Premier League

same day, they would attract almost 3% of the population, or approaching 1.5 million people, with the Premier League contributing by far the most A MAJORITY of any single division, about half of the total. In Germany and Spain, if every club played at home on the same day, they would attract about 1.6% of the EXPERIENCE… population, or little more than half England’s ratio. In Italy and France the No big country - of more than 10 million corresponding fi gure would be around 1% of the population, or around a third people - attracts a greater share of its of England’s ratio. population to attend live football matches There is an increasing diversity within the Premier League’s domestic fan on a regular basis than England. base. Children’s season ticket sales are growing, by 26% over the last decade. They now account for 12% of all season ticket sales. ngland’s football pyramid The number of 18-34 year olds E dates back to 1888 and now attending matches has grown to 40% comprises thousands of clubs, of all match-going fans. A record 26% with 92 of them across the wholly 107 of match attenders are female. And last professional top four divisions. The season, for the fi rst time, more than NATIONALITIES Premier League sits at the top of this HAVE STARRED half (51%) of the Black, Asian and interdependent network, elite but by IN THE PREMIER Minority Ethnic (BAME) population of no means elitist. LEAGUE Britain said they were interested in The dawn of the current Premier football. The BAME population League season, the 24th, coincided accounts for 11% of the UK population with the League becoming a ‘majority but a record 17% of Premier League experience’ for the 92 clubs. The 36,163 attendees. elevation of AFC Bournemouth to the FANS AT EACH top level meant that 47 of the 92 clubs GAME ON in 2015/16, or 51%, have played AVERAGE Premier League football at some point. (MORE THAN ANY No other major football league has 20-TEAM LEAGUE IN WORLD FOOTBALL. had as many clubs involved over the SPAIN’S LA LIGA IS same period. Italy’s and Spain’s SECOND WITH 25,734)

SOURCE: PREMIER LEAGUE 95.9% La Liga have each had 46 clubs in that 2014/15 STADIUM OCCUPANCY time, with France’s on 43 and T L H IN 2014/15 L Germany’s Bundesliga on 41. E A B H T These historic footballing nations I G O have all had well-supported leagues H O E F and diverse top divisions across many ST D O RL years but none match England. If every F A O NY IN W English club played at home on the LEAGUE premierleague.com Audiences 7

...WITH THE WORLD WATCHING 8 Sportcal Insight Premier League

BIG OCCASIONS FOR EVERY CLUB… premierleague.com Case study 9 174,000,000 PREMIER LEAGUE FANS IN CHINA, THE WORLD’S MOST POPULOUS NATION

Arsenal Southampton featured in four of the featured among top 10 top 10 live matches in live matches in India …IN A WORLD the USA Stoke City Aston Villa featured in two of the OF GROWING featured in the second- three most-watched most watched live live matches in China match in Norway Sunderland MARKETS Chelsea featured in the third featured in all top-six live most-watched live matches in Nigeria match in India he Premier League is also a T ‘majority experience’ globally, Crystal Palace Swansea City with 2.3 billion football fans in featured among the featured in the most- the world and more than half of them top 10 live matches in watched live match in (1.2 billion) identifying themselves as Malaysia China fans of the Premier League. The world’s most populous nation, Everton Tottenham Hotspur China, has 174 million Premier League featured twice in top 10 featured among top 10 fans while in Indonesia the figure is live matches in USA most-watched live more than 96 million and in India more matches in the UK than 89 million. Leicester City More than a third of the people in featured twice in the West Bromwich Albion Nigeria, Africa’s most populated top 10 live matches in featured among the top country, say they follow the Premier Thailand 20 most-watched live League. That’s more than 50 million matches in Norway people, or approximately the same Liverpool number as the entire population of featured twice in the West Ham United England. Countries as diverse as the top four live matches in featured twice in the USA, Thailand, and Mexico Malaysia top 12 live matches in each have between 20 million and 30 Thailand million Premier League fans. Manchester City featured in three of the top 10 live matches in South Africa

Manchester United featured in nine of top 10 live matches in the UK Newcastle United featured among the top five live matches in China 10 Sportcal Insight Premier League

MOST PLAYERS AT 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP THE CYCLE

OF GLOBAL BLOG / GUARDIAN DATA SOURCE: FIFA GROWTH 106 PLAYERS 81 72 62 43 34 25 24 22 21 5% 8% 6% 3% 3% 3% 3% 14% 11% 10% he popularity of the Premier T League means its clubs are in 5. LIGUE 1 4. LA LIGA demand around the world, in 2. SERIE A 10. MLS, USA the fl esh and via all types of broadcast. In the build-up to the 2015/16 season, 3. BUNDESLIGA 7. LIGA MX, MEXICO 1. PREMIER LEAGUE AFC Bournemouth were one of eight 8. SUPER LIG, TURKEY Premier League clubs to play pre- 6. season friendlies in North America. So 9. PRIMEIRA LIGA, PORTUGAL did Chelsea, Manchester City, LEADING 10 LEAGUES COMBINED: 490 (OF 736 PLAYERS) - 67% Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea also The Premier League’s 20 teams attract a more went to Thailand and Australia, while diverse range of shirt sponsors - from 10 different Manchester City went to Australia, countries across North America, Europe, Asia and the Vietnam and Germany. Middle East - than any other major league. And those Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City shirt deals, worth an average of more than £11m per played in the Barclays Asia Trophy in club for 2015/16, are worth more than twice as much as Singapore. Aston Villa toured Portugal. those in any other league. Some of the world’s biggest Crystal Palace went to South Africa. brands know full well that the Premier League is the Liverpool played in Thailand, Australia, most attractive platform for reaching the widest Malaysia and Finland. Southampton possible audience on a year-round basis. played in Austria, as did West Brom, SHIRT SPONSORSHIP DEALS IN EUROPE’S BIG 5 LEAGUES while Swansea City and Watford both RANK LEAGUE TOTAL CLUBS AVG played matches in Germany. The Premier League is a global No.1No.1 P Premierremier LeaLeaguegue £223m£223m 2020 £11 £11.2m.2m entity, in global demand and of global No.2 Bundesliga £101m 18 £5.6m importance in multiple ways. The No.3 La Liga £82m 20 £4.1m Premier League contributed more No.4 Ligue 1 £70m 20 £3.5m players to last summer’s World Cup (106) than any league, as it has done No.5 Serie A £61m 20 £3.1m since the 1990s. SOURCE: REPUCOM / SPORTINGINTELLIGENCE premierleague.com Global appeal 11

teams are Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Few would doubt their worldwide appeal. Yet the strength in depth of the MORE BIG TEAMS. Premier League, and its possibility for excitement and upsets every week, was demonstrated repeatedly last season. Manchester United lost at home to MORE MATCHES West Bromwich Albion, who also beat Chelsea. Arsenal lost home and away to Swansea City, who a decade earlier were in England’s fourth division but have THAT MATTER thrived in a system that allows upward mobility. Liverpool lost at home to Crystal Palace, away at relegated Hull City. Manchester City lost to Crystal n in-depth study of 17 of the Palace and Burnley and home to Stoke A world’s major sports leagues in City. If uncertainty of outcome is one 2015 - including the four major key ingredient to keep audiences US sports leagues of the NFL, NBA, MLB 170 engaged, then the Premier League has and NHL, the fi ve major football leagues it. That uncertainty fi zzles in the 20 of Europe, and assorted other leagues PREMIER LEAGUE ‘global games’ per season between the MATCHES EACH - found an elite group of ‘super clubs’ SEASON INVOLVE League’s fi ve top-10 ‘global’ clubs. could be identifi ed using the simple AT LEAST ONE OF Those 20 major fi xtures are 10 times as metric of global social media following. THE WORLD’S many than any other league offers. TOP 10 MOST Teams from Europe dominated the POPULAR TEAMS El Clásico in Spain between upper echelons of the list, with one of Barcelona and Real Madrid is rightly the study’s authors, American academic seen as global draw, but it’s the only Roger Pielke Jnr, concluding: “Football global draw of its kind in La Liga and it is the only truly global game, especially happens twice a year. European football.” MOST FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA* (TEAM AVERAGE) Five Premier League teams feature RANK LEAGUE AVG CLUBS IN WORLD’S among the world’s 10 most popular FOLLOWERS TOP 10 MOST sports teams, with no other league, POPULAR TEAMS from any sport, having more than two. No.1No.1 Premier LeagueLeague 12m12m 5 NBA basketball had the next best No.2 La Liga 11m 2 claim to being most globally popular league, with three teams in the top 15: No.3 IPL (cricket) 7.3m 0 the LA Lakers at No9, the Chicago Bulls No.4 NBA (basketball) 5m 1 at No12 and the Miami Heat at No13. No.5 Serie A 3.3m 1 MLB baseball squeezed one team No.6 NFL 3.14m 0 into the top 20: the New York Yankees. No.7 Bundesliga 3.06m 1 The best-placed NFL team was the Dallas Cowboys at No22 while the next No.8 MLB (baseball) 2.1m 0 best was the New England Patriots at No.9 Ligue 1 1.9m 0

No25, a place below Tottenham Hotspur. *ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER, PRINCIPAL OFFICIAL CLUB ACCOUNTS The Premier League’s fi ve top-10 SOURCE: SPORTING INTELLIGENCE 12 Sportcal Insight Premier League

A FAIRER SHARE FOR ALL

he Premier League’s attraction DIFFERENT La Liga (at 7.8 to 1). Over the next TOP-DIVISION T to such a wide audience TITLE WINNERS three seasons at least £1 billion will inevitably means it is attractive IN LAST THREE be redistributed to help develop to broadcasters. EY’s economic impact SEASONS the English game outside of the analysis in May 2015 compared major Premier League. football league broadcasting revenues There is a case to be made that as in Europe for the 2013/14 season. the Premier League’s overseas TV The Premier League’s £1.733 billion income increases, the fairer the league for that year – a billion pounds of 3 will become in a competitive sense, domestic income and the rest from because every club shares exactly the overseas deals – was almost three ENGLAND same proportion of foreign TV money, (PREMIER LEAGUE) times as much as Serie A’s broadcast regardless of where they fi nish. income of £608 million the same There is an argument that the Premier season, with La Liga on £543 million, League title race is now more open at the Bundesliga on £356 million and the start of the season than in any other Ligue 1 on £350 million. major European league. The Premier EY highlighted the signifi cance of 2 League was unique among the Big the Premier League’s foreign TV rights Five leagues as the 2015/16 seasons sales in 2013/14, saying: “At around SPAIN, began in not having a clear odds-on PORTUGAL, £722 million, the international RUSSIA, title favourite. Bayern Munich broadcast revenues alone received by UKRAINE, (Germany), Paris St Germain (France), the Premier League were greater than BELGIUM, Barcelona (Spain) and Juventus (Italy) the total (domestic and international) NETHERLANDS, all occupied that status in those nations. TURKEY, broadcast revenue individually CZECH REPUBLIC, The Premier League in 2015/16 generated by Ligue 1, Serie A, the AUSTRIA, kicked off with the possibility that it Bundesliga and La Liga.” The Premier POLAND, might end with a fourth different winner SWEDEN League also leads in equality of for a fourth consecutive season. Bayern distribution of its broadcasting income, Munich began their season looking for with the club that makes the most from a fourth title in a row in Germany, as did central funds, Chelsea in 2014/15, PSG in France; Juventus are chasing a earning just 1.53 times as much as the fi fth straight title in Italy and Barcelona club making least – Queens Park 1 hope to be Spanish champions for the Rangers last season. sixth time in eight years. GERMANY, The next ‘fairest’ league in ITALY, The Premier League, uniquely of redistributive terms among Europe’s FRANCE, the top divisions in the 20 leading Big Five is the Bundesliga, with a ratio SWITZERLAND, football nations of Europe (as ranked GREECE, of 2 to 1 between top and bottom, ROMANIA, by UEFA co-effi cient ratings), has followed by France’s Ligue 1 (at 3.4 to CROATIA, had three different winners in the past 1), Italy’s Serie A (at 5.3 to 1) and Spain’s CYPRUS three years. premierleague.com Football nation 13 14 Sportcal Insight Premier League

‘captured’ watching at home on TV with others watching live in other ways) to Saturday tea-time (1.74 POPULATION million) to Sunday lunch-time (1.65 million). The biggest average on most weekends comes on Sundays at 62.4M 4pm (2.2 million). Live games in FOOTBALL FANS ‘midweek’ including on Monday nights and Bank Holidays average COUNTRY CASE STUDY 22.7M 1.65 million viewers. The highlights programme Match of the Day – a PREMIER LEAGUE FANS British institution for half a century shown on the BBC – draws an UNITED 18.1M average 3.6 million viewers late on Saturday nights and MOTD2 on

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 Sundays adding 2.33 million more on (BASED ON THE 16- TO 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) average, with other magazine and preview programming adding more. KINGDOM Cumulative viewing numbers for live games alone reached 265.5 million people in the UK in 2014/15. That’s the equivalent of every man, woman and child – regardless of age and across the whole of the UK, not just England – watching more than ootball is by far the most four whole Premier League matches LIVE IN-HOME F popular sport in Britain, with TV AUDIENCE each, live. half of the adult population The UK has a greater percentage interested, and the Premier League 183.7M of viewers of live games watching at by far the most popular sporting competition. OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES VIEWERS Live attendances in recent seasons IN THE UK, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS have set occupancy records for 81.8M 1. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 16:00 capacity utilised as well as records for 2. Man Utd v Man City Sun 16:00 the total number of fans attending TOTAL LIVE any Premier League season. More VIEWERS 3. Man Utd v Liverpool Sun 13:30 fans on average attended each 4. Man Utd v Southampton Sun 16:00 Premier League match in 2013/14, 265.5M 5. Man City v Man Utd Sun 13:30 for example, than in any season in the 6. Arsenal v Man Utd Sat 17:30 top division of England for 64 years. HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. West Ham v Man Utd Sun 16:00 More than a quarter of the UK AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Man City v Liverpool Mon 20:00 population watch Premier League INCREASED THE coverage on television at home on a TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Liverpool v Man Utd Sun 13:30 VIEWS ACROSS typical match weekend. Live 10. Man Utd v Spurs Sun 16:00 audiences build across the weekend 3,210 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Man Utd v QPR Sun 16:00 from Saturday lunchtime (1.27 million BROADCASTS IN 12. Arsenal v Chelsea Sun 16:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 average, combining viewers THE UK IN 2014/15 premierleague.com Case study 15 15,078,274 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS IN THE UK WHO CONSUME TV COVERAGE OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE ON A TYPICAL MATCH WEEKEND, EITHER LIVE OR VIA A HIGHLIGHTS SHOW SUCH AS MATCH OF THE DAY. EQUIVALENT TO 26% OF THE UK TV-VIEWING POPULATION WHO CONSUME COVERAGE OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE ON TV AT HOME ON A TYPICAL MATCH WEEKEND

home on TV than the eight other key DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES markets. Some 82% watch at home TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ and 85% of those watch on TV, CONSOLE TABLET accounting for 69% of total viewing. IN HOME That still leaves a large absolute + + number of viewers - almost 82 82% million across last season - watching 85% 12% 3% in other ways. Slightly more people watched live games via laptops and other SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ computers including tablets (34.9 OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET million) last season than they did on + + screens in public places, principally 18% pubs (34.8 million). Almost 7 million 71% 16% 13% viewers watched a live Premier League match on a smartphone. The most popular clubs in the UK in terms of total viewers were the same fi ve clubs identifi ed within the world’s top 10 most popular sports teams: Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. But every club featured at least “The quality of the stadiums, the quality once, and most more often, in the of the support, the passion that is behind top 40 matches ranked by live every single club and the fact that the best audience, each of which had players in the world are concentrated in the between 1.98 million and 4.2 Premier League – all that together million viewers. makes it special. And on top of that you are in the country where football has been created… and you want to be part of it” Arsene Wenger, Arsenal manager

“This is the league where every match is a real match. Every opponent is diffi cult. Every detail can make a difference. This is the league where you want to be champion and risk fi nishing fi fth. Where you want a Europa League spot and risk being relegated. This is the Premier League. This is a real competition” José Mourinho, Chelsea manager 16 Sportcal Insight Premier League

population - watched at least part of one Premier League game live last season. It is perceived as supplying POPULATION entertaining football, with unpredictable outcomes, intense rivalries and passionate fans packing 313.1M out atmospheric stadiums. FOOTBALL FANS Focus groups of digitally-engaged Premier League fans in New York COUNTRY CASE STUDY 59.9M found viewers watching the League across a range of devices, platforms PREMIER LEAGUE FANS and channels. Mobile access is preferred for its convenience. Fans UNITED 28.5M take advantage of club, broadcaster and social media apps to download

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 up-to-date information. There is a (BASED ON THE 16- TO strong appetite for news and 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) statistical information. Fans within STATES the digitally-engaged demographic rate NBC’s Premier League coverage very highly, including the ‘NBC Sports Live Extra’ online app. It is typical of how digitally connected young US fans are that they are as likely to watch NBC coverage via an he Premier League’s strong offi cial online stream or mobile app LIVE IN-HOME T growth continues in the TV AUDIENCE as they are on television. United States, with average Social media platforms, such as in-home TV match audiences up 106.1M Twitter, offi cial club apps and by 9% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 and signs early in 2015/16 OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES that the current season will be VIEWERS IN THE US, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS another record year. 108.2M 1. Chelsea v Man City Sat 12:30 The debate over whether America 2. Man Utd v Man City Sun 11:00 ‘gets’ football is over. It does, and TOTAL LIVE has done for years, and a new VIEWERS 3. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 12:00 six-year broadcasting contract for 4. Chelsea v Arsenal Sun 09:05 NBC, one of the world’s most 214.3M 5. Arsenal v Chelsea Sun 11:00 pre-eminent sports broadcasters, 6. Spurs v Chelsea Thu 8:30* from 2016 underlines that. NBC HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Newcastle v Southampton Sat 12:30 recognises that the fan base for AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Arsenal v Man Utd Sat 12:30 football is cosmopolitan, multilingual INCREASED THE and growing, and that the Premier TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Everton v Liverpool Sat 12:30 VIEWS ACROSS League is premium content that 10. Everton v Arsenal Sat 12:30 attracts young, engaged viewers. 2,003 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Crystal Palace v Spurs Sat 12:30 Some 28.6 million different US BROADCASTS IN THE 12. QPR v Man City Sat 12:30 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 citizens - almost a 10th of the USA IN 2014/15 2015 *NEW YEAR’S DAY premierleague.com Case study 17 109,318 PAYING FANS AT THE BEST-ATTENDED FOOTBALL MATCH IN HISTORY ON US SOIL. THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S MANCHESTER UNITED V REAL MADRID, MICHIGAN, AUG 2014

broadcasters’ apps are used most DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES often for accessing basic information TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ such as scores and match statistics. CONSOLE TABLET Some social media sites such as IN HOME Facebook and Instagram are used + + for more in-depth content, behind 73% the scenes videos and photos of 68% 22% 10% players and clubs. Focus groups found that Premier

League fans in the US often plan SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ CONSOLE TABLET their weekends around the Premier OUT-OF-HOME League match schedule, and many + + rise early on a Saturday (7.45am EST) 27% in order to watch the fi rst fi xture of 47% 30% 23% the weekend. The most popular kick-off time is 12:30pm EST (5:30pm GMT) on Saturday as it does not confl ict with other sporting events, is 2.9 million viewers. not too early and a number of Almost three-quarters of the US matches shown at this time (over 20 audience (73%) watch live matches at in 2014/15) are available free-to-air. home although only 68% of those at Using the total live viewing home watch on TV. They numbered numbers, incorporating both the 106.1 million last season, with 108.2 captured and previously non-captured million other fans watching live in audiences for live matches last season, other ways. Of this ‘non-captured the most watched match of 2014/15 audience’ (NCA), 28.7 million of in the US was in that 12.30pm EST them, or 26.5% of the NCA, were time slot, featuring Chelsea versus watching either on a tablet or Manchester City in January 2015. smartphone. The USA has the largest The lure of those two teams plus proportion of such ‘mobile’ audiences Manchester United and Arsenal for live games, fractionally ahead of meant the next four most-watched Thailand. A quarter of the USA’s NCA games featured a combination of watch live matches out of home on that quartet, all in matches with an public screens and 27% watch at early Sunday EST kick-off time. home either on PCs or laptops. Yet the popularity of the 12.30 EST Saturday slot was evident across the rest of the top 12 live games last “On the fi nal day of the year, season, with Newcastle versus we have three laptops and a Southampton drawing more than 2 TV going. We have them all million viewers in the seventh streaming, but that’s really most-watched match, and Everton, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, only towards the end of Tottenham Hotspur and QPR the season where every also featuring in the top 12 point matters” matches, all of which drew Premier League fan, New York between 1.9 million and 18 Sportcal Insight Premier League

PREMIER LEAGUE GLOBAL APPEAL Where it ranks within selected nations among all football leagues (COUNTRY / RANK / PREMIER LEAGUE FANS*)

IRELAND / NO.1 / 1.4M

FRANCE / NO.2 / 7.2M

SPAIN / NO.2 / 7.6M

ITALY / NO.2 / 10.6M

NIGERIA / NO.1 / 59.2M

MEXICO / NO.3 / 20.5M

US / NO.2 / 28.5M BRAZIL / NO.3 / 17.1M

CANADA / NO.1 / 3.3M

ARGENTINA / NO.3 / 6.1M

NOTES 1: *Popularity is defi ned by polling data that asked a representative sample of 16- to 69-year-olds in each country their level of interest in different football leagues. The data show all those ‘interested’ and ‘very interested’. Source: Repucom 2013/14. 2: In every nation where the Premier League is No1, it has greater popularity even than the domestic league. 3: premierleague.com Markets 19 681,900,000 PEOPLE IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS PREMIER LEAGUE FANS IN THE 32 COUNTRIES DETAILED ON THIS MAP ALONE. THE PREMIER LEAGUE IS THE MOST POPULAR FOOTBALL LEAGUE IN 16 OF THESE COUNTRIES

UK / NO.1 / 18.1M

NETHERLANDS / NO.2 / 2.3M

NORWAY / NO.2 / 800,000

SWEDEN / NO.2 / 1.2M

RUSSIA / NO.2 / 23.3M

POLAND / NO.3 / 5M

GERMANY / NO.2 / 8.1M

CHINA/ NO.1 / 174M

JAPAN / NO.1 / 17.2M

SOUTH KOREA / NO.1 /13.2M

HONG KONG / NO.1 / 2.5M

THAILAND / NO.1 / 26.3M

UAE / NO.5 / 700,000

QATAR / NO.1 / 800,000 INDONESIA / NO.1 / 92.2M EGYPT / NO.2 / 13.7M SINGAPORE / NO.1 / 1.6M INDIA / NO.1 /89.3M MALAYSIA / NO.1 / 9.4M

SOUTH AFRICA / NO.2 / 13M AUSTRALIA / NO.1 / 3.1M

NEW ZEALAND / NO.1 / 600,000

In every nation where the Premier League is No2, international event to which the Premier League has only the principal domestic league is more popular. contributed more players than any other league for 4: In Poland, Brazil & Mexico, the Premier League is every tournament since the 1990s. 6: In most No3 behind the domestic league plus the countries the Champions League is among the most Bundesliga (in Poland) and La Liga (in the other popular club tournaments, one where the Premier two). 5: In most countries, the most popular football League has been a major contributor of clubs since tournament is the World Cup, a quadrennial both started in the 1992/93 season. 20 Sportcal Insight Premier League

The local kick-off times, concentrated around prime time on Saturday and Sunday evenings, are POPULATION ideal for organising nights out or viewing parties at home, and fans try to make an event out of every 1,242M matchday weekend. Viewing data FOOTBALL FANS bears this out, with weekend evenings, local time, the most popular COUNTRY CASE STUDY 252.4M slots for live matches. If supporters cannot organise a group viewing, they PREMIER LEAGUE FANS will still watch matches at home, often streaming them via laptops. INDIA 89.3M Focus group fi ndings compiled by Populus say that social media plays a

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 signifi cant role in any matchday (BASED ON THE 16- TO 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) weekend. According to the research: “Fans make great use of Facebook and WhatsApp to organise their viewing parties, share views on tactics, exchange friendly banter with fans of rival clubs and review the match action. While the match is on, however, they tend to try to avoid distractions in order to focus ricket remains the most on the football itself.” LIVE IN-HOME C popular sport in India but TV AUDIENCE The new research on ‘non-captured’ interest in football is growing audiences for live Premier League rapidly with the Premier League the 13.3M matches highlights both the social most popular year-round football competition. Focus groups suggest the OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES growing popularity of the match is at VIEWERS IN INDIA, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS least in part down to football’s 14.6M 1. Arsenal v Chelsea Sun 20:30 condensed, fast-paced and incident- 2. Everton v Man Utd Sun 18:00 packed play, which fans instinctively TOTAL LIVE 3. Sunderland v Man Utd Sun 20:30 compare with slower-paced cricket; VIEWERS and the Premier League is synonymous 4. Leicester v Arsenal Sun 20:30 with these characteristics. 27.9M 5. Chelsea v Arsenal Sun 18:00 The League’s fans in India, more 6. Man Utd v QPR Sun 20:30 than 89 million of them, of whom 48 HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Man City v Spurs Sat 17:15 million say they follow a particular club, AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Man City v Man Utd Sun 19:00 are especially strongly represented INCREASED THE among the emerging middle class and TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Arsenal v Man City Sat 17:15 VIEWS ACROSS young affl uent males. Matchdays for 10. Man Utd v Southampton Sun 21:30 this demographic, which is a digitally 8,170 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Liverpool v Chelsea Sat 18:15 engaged section of the population, are BROADCASTS IN INDIA IN 2014/15 12. Crystal Palace v Liverpool Sun 19:00

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 ‘primary social events’. premierleague.com Case study 21 30,000+ INDIAN FANS ATTENDED THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE OPEN-AIR EVENT IN MUMBAI IN DECEMBER 2014, TO WATCH LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES ON A GIANT SCREEN AND MEET LEGENDS INCLUDING ROBBIE FOWLER AND PETER SCHMEICHEL

side of watching matches in India, and DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES the technological variation in the way TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ matches are consumed. CONSOLE TABLET Some 36% of the average audience IN HOME for a live match will be out of home, + + and 61% of that on screens in public 64% places. That 36% is a larger share than 74% 19% 7% any key market except Nigeria, explained in part by all live coverage

being shown on pay-TV broadcaster SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ STAR Sports. OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET The proportion of Indian viewers + + watching via PCs, laptops and 36% consoles is also relatively high, with 61% 29% 10% 29% of out-of-home viewers watching that way, and 19% of viewers at home. The most-watched match of the season was in the Sunday 20:30 time Four of the six most-watched slot, featuring Arsenal and Chelsea matches were in the 20:30 Sunday and drawing 600,000 viewers. The slot, with a good variety of teams bigger the ‘occasion’ the higher the involved in those matches, from likelihood of a big ‘non-captured Arsenal and Chelsea to Everton, audience’ (NCA) share as fans gather Manchester United, Sunderland, out of home. Leicester City and QPR. More than 120,000 viewers watched While 64% of the Indian audience that Arsenal v Chelsea match on watches live matches at home, only screens in public places across India, 74% of those at home watch on TV. and a hundred thousand more on They numbered 13.3 million last PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets season, with 14.6 million other fans away from home. watching live in other ways.

“Awareness has increased. Previously it was only cricket. You now see people playing soccer, and hear people watching or following soccer on a regular basis” Premier League fan, Mumbai 22 Sportcal Insight Premier League

computers, with 41% of those watching at home doing so on PCs or laptops, and another 11% watching at POPULATION home on mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. Coverage in the country is very accessible, 1,348M available on free-to-air television and FOOTBALL FANS through a host of online providers. China was unique among the nine COUNTRY CASE STUDY 307.3M key markets in having a minority of those watching at home doing so on PREMIER LEAGUE FANS TV (48%). Every other market had at least 60% of in-home live viewers CHINA 174M doing so on TV. Despite the late kick-offs, local time,

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 a signifi cant minority of the Chinese (BASED ON THE 16- TO audience stressed in focus groups that 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) matches formed the basis of social occasions. Premier League kick-off times in Beijing (particularly Saturday 22:00 and Sunday 23:00) coincide well with fans’ social lives; many meet up with their friends to watch League matches. Fans surveyed in Beijing are extremely positive towards the ithin China, the world’s Premier League and see it as one of LIVE IN-HOME W biggest country in terms of TV AUDIENCE the most competitive, high-quality population, the Premier leagues in the world. League is seen as the pre-eminent 41.7M China has the highest proportion of national football league and has the largest following, with 174 million fans OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES in the country. Despite a time VIEWERS IN CHINA, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS difference that means most matches 64.4M 1. Chelsea v Swansea Sat 22:00 kick off late at night, Premier League 2. Stoke v Arsenal Sat 23:00 games attracted more than 106 TOTAL LIVE million live viewers inside China in VIEWERS 3. Man City v Stoke Sat 22:00 2014/15. China had a larger 4. Man City v Crystal Palace Sat 20:45 proportion of ‘non-captured audience’ 106.1M 5. Newcastle v Man City Sun 23:00 (NCA, or those watching in ways other 6. Arsenal v Hull Sat 22:00 than via television at home) than any HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Stoke v Spurs Sat 22:00 country in the nine key markets. AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Aston Villa v Arsenal Sat 22:00 This NCA share was almost 61%, INCREASED THE meaning just over 39% of viewers TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Leicester v Arsenal Sun 23:00 VIEWS ACROSS watching matches live in China did so 10. Sunderland v Man Utd Sun 23:00 on TV at home. China had by far the 6,832 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Chelsea v Leicester Sat 22:00 largest proportion of viewers in key BROADCASTS IN CHINA IN 2014/15 12. Man Utd v Hull Sat 22:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 markets watching at home via premierleague.com Case study 23 36,198,689 THE CUMULATIVE AUDIENCE IN CHINA DURING 2014/15 FOR THOSE WATCHING LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES AT HOME ON A PC, LAPTOP OR GAMES CONSOLE

fans in the nine key markets watching DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES live matches at home, 83% of them TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ against 17% watching out of home, CONSOLE TABLET which is to be expected when most IN HOME games are screened so late, local time. + + Of 106.1 million live viewers in 83% 2014/15, this translated to 87.5 million 48% 41% 11% watching at home (83%) and 18.6 million (17%) outside the home.

What is notable in China particularly SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ CONSOLE TABLET is the signifi cant share of both OUT-OF-HOME in-home and out-of home audiences + + who watch on computers. Some of 17% China’s biggest online platforms, 43% 36% 21% including LETV and Sina, are licensed to show Premier League coverage. Inside the home, this is a 41% share of viewers, and even away 11pm/12am on Sundays; or, from home it is 36%. Both these respectively, the 3pm kick-offs on fi gures are considerably ahead of any Saturdays in the UK and 4pm Sunday other market for computer viewing of kick-offs. Indeed 29 of the 30 most- live matches. watched matches were played at The proportion of Chinese viewers these times, with the top four and watching matches via smartphones nine of the top 12 at 10/11pm on and tablets is also relatively high. Of Saturday in China (3pm in the UK). those at home, the 11% watching this With the convenience of the time way in China is the highest of all slot apparently important in markets while away from home (21%) determining the popularity among is matched in Thailand and only viewers, China’s most-watched dozen bettered in the USA. games in 2014/15 included a broad Two time slots dominated the most range of teams. Swansea City, Stoke popular games in China in 2014/15, at City (twice), Crystal Palace, Newcastle 10/11pm on Saturdays and at United and Hull City all featured in the biggest six matches in terms of live audience as 14 of the League’s 20 teams played in a top-12 game in China in audience terms.

“I think the Premier League is full of passion, high speed and high level competition. Sometimes I am excited and sometimes I am tense” Premier League fan, Beijing 24 Sportcal Insight Premier League

kick-offs in the UK on Sundays) and at 21:00/22:00 on Saturdays (3pm in the UK). POPULATION Focus groups in Bangkok in 2014/15 found that fans often go to restaurants and bars to watch Premier 69.5M League live games as part of FOOTBALL FANS organised viewing events, often including prize giveaways. During COUNTRY CASE STUDY 36.8M matches, many fans prefer to focus on the game they are watching, but PREMIER LEAGUE FANS others like to dual screen and stream two matches simultaneously. THAILAND 26.3M Fans in Bangkok own various desktop and mobile devices through

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 which they are able to regularly (BASED ON THE 16- TO access the internet. They use both 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) apps and browsers on their mobile devices, mainly using apps when they are on the go. They prefer to use browsers when possible because of the greater level of detail on offer. The social aspect is a key part of following the Premier League: fans engage with each other ootball is one of the most online through social media, gaming LIVE IN-HOME F popular sports in Thailand TV AUDIENCE and betting. and the Premier League is The cumulative live audience for the most ardently-supported league. 40.6M live Premier League matches in Many Thai people have grown up with English football and have strong OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN allegiances to Premier League clubs, VIEWERS THAILAND, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS in particular those that have been 28.0M 1. Liverpool v Man Utd Sun 20:30 most successful. 2. Leicester v Man Utd Sun 19:30 Live games can attract huge TOTAL LIVE audiences, both in-home and VIEWERS 3. Man City v Man Utd Sun 20:30 elsewhere, and in some case matches 4. Arsenal v Man City Sat 18:45 draw more fans in Thailand late in the 68.6M 5. Chelsea v Sunderland Sun 22:00 evenings than they do back in the 6. Chelsea v Liverpool Sun 22:00 UK. The massive audiences in HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. West Ham v Aston Villa Sun 22:00 Thailand are partly due to the fact AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Spurs v Crystal Palace Sat 22:00 that some matches are broadcast INCREASED THE free-to-air. TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Man Utd v Liverpool Sun 20:30 VIEWS ACROSS The new research shows that two 10. Everton v Leicester Sun 21:05 slots in particular are especially 13,850 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Swansea v West Ham Sat 22:00 popular - those on Sunday at BROADCASTS IN 12. Southampton v Everton Sat 22:00

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 19:30/20:30 local time (1.30pm THAILAND IN 2014-15 premierleague.com Case study 25 4 THE FOUR MOST POPULAR FACEBOOK SPORTS PAGES IN THAILAND ARE ALL PREMIER LEAGUE-RELATED: THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S OWN PAGE AND THE OFFICIAL PAGES OF MAN UTD, LIVERPOOL AND CHELSEA

2014/15 in Thailand was 68.6 million DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES people, of which 81% (or 55.8 TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ million) were watching at home and CONSOLE TABLET 19% (or 12.7 million) were watching IN HOME away from home. + + In the home, seven in 10 viewers 81% were watching live matches on TV 73% 19% 8% although three in 10 were watching either on PCs or laptops (19% of the

IHTV audience) or on smartphones SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ and tables (8%). Away from the OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET home, the share of viewing on + + screens in public places was 57% and 19% the balance was by viewers watching 57% 22% 21% on PCs and laptops (22%) and on mobile devices (21%). Seven of the Premier League’s top 10 live match audiences in Thailand The breadth of representation in the 2014/15 season were on Sunday among other clubs in the most- evenings, including the top three in watched games - from Leicester City the 19.30/20:30 slot, local time. Each at No2 to Tottenham Hotspur and of those three drew audiences of Crystal Palace at No8 to Swansea more than 5 million people, with the City, West Ham United, Aston Villa, most popular game between Everton and Southampton all inside Liverpool and Manchester United the top dozen matches - is evidence drawing an audience of 6.4 million of League-wide appeal in a nation people. While Manchester United that has some of the biggest live featured in each of those games they audiences in the world for Premier did not feature again in the top League football. dozen, and Liverpool just once more.

“If I am going out, I use my smartphone. If I am at home, I turn on my computer” Premier League fan, Bangkok

“If it’s not too late then I go and watch with friends. If it’s very late then I watch at home” Football fan, Bangkok 26 Sportcal Insight Premier League

prime time in Malaysia. And when Malaysian Premier League fans are not watching matches on TV, many POPULATION spend hours playing the offi cial Fantasy Premier League game. Nationally, Malaysians are third only 28.9M behind the UK and Ireland in FOOTBALL FANS absolute numbers playing, with almost 200,000 managers in the COUNTRY CASE STUDY 13.6M current season. A sizeable majority of the audience PREMIER LEAGUE FANS for live Premier League match coverage in Malaysia watches out of MALAYSIA 9.4M home, or 31% against 69% watching at home. In the 2014/15 season, this

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 translated into 12.2 million viewers (BASED ON THE 16- TO out of home and 27.5 million at 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) home in different ways. Watching on television remains by far the most popular way to view live games inside the home, with 83% of those at home doing this. Watching on screens in public places – bars, pubs or cafes – remains the most popular way of watching outside the home, adminton is unoffi cially the with 73% of the out-of-home LIVE IN-HOME B national sport of Malaysia, a TV AUDIENCE audience doing this. Fans watching sport where their players on PCs and laptops account for more thrive on the international stage, but 23M than one in 10 viewers inside the football runs it a close second and is on a par as a televised sport. OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN Malaysians regularly play football VIEWERS MALAYSIA, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS and have a keen appetite for 16.7M 1. Liverpool v Man Utd Sun 20:30 watching, with the Premier League 2. Chelsea v Southampton Sun 20:30 the most popular. The League has a TOTAL LIVE VIEWERS strong and sustained presence in the 3. Chelsea v Swansea Sat 22:00 4. Chelsea v Liverpool Sun 23:00 country, with individual clubs 39.7 inspiring fi erce devotion among M 5. Chelsea v Man Utd Sat 00:45 more than nine million fans. 6. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 23:00 New data shows that the audiences HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Chelsea v West Ham Fri 20:00* for live Premier League matches in AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Man Utd v Southampton Sun 23:00 2014/15 totalled almost 40 million, INCREASED THE with almost a third of this in out-of- TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Man City v Man Utd Sun 20:30 VIEWS ACROSS home environments. 10. Crystal Palace v Man Utd Sat 00:45 Early afternoon kick-offs in the UK 8,629 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Man Utd v Liverpool Sun 20:30 can attract large out-of-home BROADCASTS IN 12. Chelsea v Aston Villa Sat 22:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 audiences as they are broadcast in MALAYSIA IN 2014-15 *BOXING DAY premierleague.com Case study 27 87,411 THE CAPACITY OF MALAYSIA’S BUKIT JALIL NATIONAL STADIUM, VENUE FOR THE INAUGURAL BARCLAYS ASIA TROPHY IN 2003 AND FOR SOLD-OUT TOUR GAMES BY PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS INCLUDING MANCHESTER UNITED, LIVERPOOL, CHELSEA AND ARSENAL

home (12%) and almost one in six DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES outside the home (16%). Similarly, TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ watching live games on smartphones CONSOLE TABLET and tablets is more popular out of IN HOME home (with 11% of the out-of-home + + audience doing this) than at home 69% (5% of the in-home audience). 83% 12% 5% The Premier League is strongly represented within the most popular

Facebook pages in Malaysia that SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ relate to sport. Manchester United OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET have more ‘likes’ (several million) than + + any team in the world from any sport 31% while Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal’s 73% 16% 11% pages are all in the top 10 with seven-digit numbers of followers, as is the Premier League’s offi cial Facebook page. But big audiences were by no These teams were well represented means the preserve of just a few in the most-watched live matches in clubs with Southampton, Swansea Malaysia last season, with Liverpool City, West Ham United, Crystal Palace against Manchester United being the and Aston Villa all featuring in the single most-watched live match, with dozen most-watched matches. almost 1.4 million viewing a game that fi nished at past 11pm local time on a Sunday. Last season champions “The Premier League is Chelsea proved popular as they won incredibly popular, both as the title in 2014/15, appearing in six the centre of attraction at of the seven top games. social gatherings and in terms of people following Premier League teams” Premier League fan, Penang

“When people are playing the game here on makeshift pitches, everyone wears a Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea shirt … And lots of people gather at street- side coffee shops to watch whatever game happens to be on TV” Premier League fan, Malaysia 28 Sportcal Insight Premier League

THE GLOBAL GAME The Premier League is watched throughout the world partly because players from nations in every corner of the globe have played in it

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA / 3 ARGENTINA / 57 BARBADOS / 3 BERMUDA / 2 BOLIVIA / 2 BRAZIL / 60 CANADA / 10 CHILE / 13 MONTSERRAT / 1 COLOMBIA / 10 PARAGUAY / 5 COSTA RICA / 6 PERU / 4 CURAÇAO / 2 ST. KITTS ECUADOR / 10 & NEVIS / 4 GRENADA / 2 TRINIDAD & GUADELOUPE / 1 TOBAGO / 12 HONDURAS / 6 URUGUAY / 16 JAMAICA / 37 USA / 40 MEXICO / 8 VENEZUELA / 1 premierleague.com Global game 29 107 THE NUMBER OF FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS TO HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE

ALBANIA / 1 DENMARK / 54 HUNGARY / 10 NORWAY / 58 SPAIN / 98 AUSTRIA / 10 ENGLAND / 1389 ICELAND / 16 POLAND / 14 SWEDEN / 55 BELARUS / 2 ESTONIA / 1 ITALY / 61 PORTUGAL / 47 SWITZERLAND / 18 BELGIUM / 39 FAROE ISLANDS / 1 LATVIA / 5 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND / 156 TURKEY / 13 BOSNIA AND FINLAND / 16 LITHUANIA / 1 ROMANIA / 13 UKRAINE / 5 HERZEGOVINA / 4 FRANCE / 182 MACEDONIA / 5 RUSSIA / 8 WALES / 100 BULGARIA / 9 GIBRALTAR / 1 MALTA / 1 SCOTLAND / 190 CROATIA / 22 GEORGIA / 5 MONTENEGRO / 4 SERBIA / 27 CYPRUS / 2 GERMANY / 42 NETHERLANDS / 108 SLOVAKIA / 14 CZECH REPUBLIC / 24 GREECE / 21 NORTHERN IRELAND / 63 SLOVENIA / 5

AUSTRALIA / 44 CHINA / 5 JAPAN / 6 KOREA REPUBLIC / 12 NEW ZEALAND / 6 PAKISTAN / 1

ALGERIA / 13 GAMBIA / 1 ANGOLA / 1 GHANA / 20 BENIN / 2 GUINEA / 4 CAMEROON / 24 GUINEA-BISSAU / 1 CAPE VERDE ISLANDS / 2 GUYANA / 3 MOROCCO / 14 CONGO / 3 IRAN / 3 NIGERIA / 31 SOUTH AFRICA / 13 CONGO DR / 6 ISRAEL / 14 OMAN / 1 TOGO / 3 CÔTE D’IVOIRE / 20 KENYA / 1 SEYCHELLES / 1 TUNISIA / 3 EGYPT / 8 LIBERIA / 2 SENEGAL / 28 ZAMBIA / 3 GABON / 1 MALI / 10 SIERRA LEONE / 3 ZIMBABWE / 3 30 Sportcal Insight Premier League

adults are interested in football — 83% of them. That’s more than double the number of people who POPULATION say they are interested in basketball, athletics or tennis. Unlike in many countries, where the World Cup is 162.5M often cited as the most popular FOOTBALL FANS football event, albeit it is only played once every four years for a month as COUNTRY CASE STUDY 76M nations compete against each other, the Premier League tops everything PREMIER LEAGUE FANS else in Nigeria. Nigerians generally perceive NIGERIA 59.2M European football to be a superior game, and that is particularly true of

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 Premier League, which is viewed as (BASED ON THE 16- TO fast, competitive and glamorous. 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) Sport in Nigeria is perceived as a force for good, bringing people together and uniting disparate elements of society. Premier League matches in 2014/15 were watched live in Nigeria by 53.8 million people, with more than half of that total, 53% or 28.4 he appetite for football in million people, watching out of home LIVE IN-HOME T Nigeria is enormous and TV AUDIENCE and 47%, or 25.4 million people, the popularity of the watching at home. This split makes Premier League specifi cally is 21.8M Nigeria unique among the nine key matched in few other places in the world. This is refl ected in large OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN communal gatherings to watch VIEWERS NIGERIA, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS games at ‘viewing centres’ where 32.1 M 1. Man City v Chelsea Sun 16:00 it is common to have multiple 2. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 17:00 screens showing more than one TOTAL LIVE match live at the same time as big VIEWERS 3. Hull v Chelsea Sun 17:00 paying crowds spectate. 4. Southampton v Chelsea Sun 15:05 The new research that reveals the 53.8M 5. Spurs v Chelsea Thu 14:30 * true picture of audience behaviour 6. Liverpool v Chelsea Sat 13:45 for live matches – and where fans are HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Liverpool v Man Utd Sun 14:30 watching, and how – shows Nigeria AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Man United v Southampton Sun 17:00 to be unique in having a majority of INCREASED THE viewers watching games away from TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Chelsea v Man Utd Sat 17:30 VIEWS ACROSS home, or 53% of viewers in the 10. Man Utd v Swansea Sat 12:45 2014/15 season, with 47% watching 4,470 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Man City v Man Utd Sun 14:30 at home. BROADCASTS IN 12. Man Utd v Man City Sun 16:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 A huge proportion of Nigerian NIGERIA IN 2014/15 2015 *NEW YEAR’S DAY premierleague.com Case study 31 717,000 THE MOST FOLLOWED NIGERIAN SPORTSPERSON ON TWITTER IS VICTOR MOSES, WHO PLAYS FOOTBALL IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE FOR CHELSEA (ON LOAN AT WEST HAM UNITED) AND HAD 717,000 FOLLOWERS AS THE 2015/16 SEASON BEGAN

markets featured in the new research DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES to have more people watching TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ games out of home than at home. CONSOLE TABLET The most popular way to watch at IN HOME home was on television, with 86% of + + those at home watching live matches 47% in this way – that’s 21.8 million people. 86% 8% 6% The balance of those watching at home was split between those

watching on PCs and laptops and SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ those watching on smartphones OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET and tablets. + + Of those watching outside the 53% home, the vast majority – 89% or 89% 6% 5% 25.4 million people – watched on screens in public places, with communal viewing centres being popular. Again, the balance of of them featuring Chelsea. viewers was fairly evenly split In fact Chelsea featured in the six between those watching on most popular games in Nigeria, computers (6%) and those watching on against a variety of opponents in mobiles and tablets (5%). various time slots on different days. Nigeria is in the same time zone as Their popularity in Nigeria derives the UK and the most-watched not just from their title-winning matches refl ect that to an extent with seasons but Chelsea’s association the most popular games in 2014/15 with popular Nigerian internationals tending to be the ‘big’ matches in dating back from Celestine the 4pm slot on Sundays. Five of the Babayaro to contemporary stars most-watched dozen games in such as and Victor Nigeria fell into this category Moses (currently on loan at West including the top three, listed left, all Ham United.

“In a bar they will have just one screen but in viewing centres they will have two screens. Let’s say Arsenal and Chelsea are playing at the same time, you can watch the two matches together. So that is why most people like to go to viewing centres” Premier League fan, Lagos 32 Sportcal Insight Premier League

aside from the top domestic league and many fans, whether they watched Premier League matches POPULATION regularly or not, had favourite club sides that they had started following from a young age due to the 50.5M infl uence of family or the dominance FOOTBALL FANS of English football throughout South African media. The Premier League is COUNTRY CASE STUDY 21.2M seen to be viewed as better than other European leagues – with more PREMIER LEAGUE FANS competition and star players. Premier League matches in SOUTH 13M 2014/15 were watched live in South Africa by 39.3 million people, with a

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 majority of that total – 74% or 29.1 (BASED ON THE 16- TO million people – watching in their 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) homes and 26% – or 10.2 million AFRICA people – watching out of home. The most popular way to watch at home was on television, with 92% of those at home watching live games in this way, equating to 26.9 million people. The balance of those watching at home was split between ore than two-thirds of the those watching on PCs and laptops LIVE IN-HOME M Premier League’s viewers for TV AUDIENCE and those watching on smartphones live matches in South Africa and tablets. (68%) watched at home on television 26.9M Of those watching outside the last season, a proportion that is matched among key markets only in OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN the UK. But as the new research on VIEWERS SOUTH.AFRICA, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS ‘non-captured’ audiences shows, that 12.4 M 1. Chelsea v Man Utd Sat 18:30 still left almost 32%, or more than 12 2. Arsenal v Man Utd Sat 19:30 million viewers, who were ‘non- TOTAL LIVE captured’, or watching in other ways. VIEWERS 3. Liverpool v Man Utd Sun 15:30 Communal viewing is important to 4. Man Utd v Man City Sun 17:00 fans in South Africa, just as sport in 39.3M 5. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 18:00 general has been shown in focus 6. Arsenal v Liverpool Sat 13:45 groups to play an important role in HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Man City v Man Utd Sun 15:30 bridging cultural divides within a AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Chelsea v Arsenal Sun 15:05 diverse country. The Premier League INCREASED THE is seen as an important part of this TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Liverpool v Man City Sun 14:00 VIEWS ACROSS alongside the other popular sports – 10. Man Utd v Aston Villa Sat 16:00 cricket and rugby union. 5,774 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. Leicester v Man Utd Sun 14:30 Premier League football is the BROADCASTS IN 12. Sunderland v Man Utd Sun 17:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 most popular league in South Africa S AFRICA IN 2014/15 premierleague.com Case study 33 8,068,922 VIEWERS WHO GATHERED TO WATCH LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN THE 2014/15 SEASON ON SCREENS IN PUBLIC PLACES IN SOUTH AFRICA

home, the vast majority – 79% or 8 DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES million people – watched on screens TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ in public places. The balance of CONSOLE TABLET viewers was unevenly split between IN HOME those watching on computers (14%) + + who accounted for twice as many 74% people as those watching on mobiles 92% 4% 4% and tablets (7%). Manchester United featured strongly in the most-watched games SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ in South Africa in 2014/15, playing in OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET the top five matches by total live + + audience and in nine of the top 26% dozen games. Their popularity is 79% 14% 7% long-standing and was enhanced when they signed one of South Africa’s most popular internationals, Quinton Fortune, in 1999, and via tours to the country. Live viewing is spread fairly evenly across a variety of time slots, with 19.8m viewers across Saturdays over the season, 14.3 million on Sundays and 5.3 million on midweek days.

“The Premier League has the best entertainment value, definitely. It is fast, it is intense. All games have some sort of say in the league… you get more entertainment value when you are watching ” Football fan, South Africa

“Every match is like a family outing and friends, we all go, we get a huge table and it’s just nice to have drinks with your friends and family and watch the game, it’s like a bonding session” Premier League fan, South Africa 34 Sportcal Insight Premier League

European leagues are superior, with the Premier League considered the best of all. POPULATION There is a tradition of Norwegians following top-fl ight English football, fed in part by the long list of 4.9M Norwegian players to grace the FOOTBALL FANS English game. These include some of the most decorated players in COUNTRY CASE STUDY 1.5M the League’s history — former Manchester United players Ole PREMIER LEAGUE FANS Gunnar Solskjær, Ronny Johnson and Henning Berg. NORWAY 800,000 Three Norwegians began the 2015/16 season registered with

SOURCE: REPUCOM 2013/14 Premier League clubs: Brede (BASED ON THE 16- TO Hangeland, formerly of Fulham, with 69-YEAR-OLD POPULATION) Crystal Palace; Joshua King, a former Manchester United trainee at AFC Bournemouth, and Alexander Tettey at Norwich City. Norway has the highest proportion of Premier League live viewers who watch matches at home (85%) and the lowest proportion who watch ore than half a million out-of-home (15%). During the LIVE IN-HOME M Norwegians follow the TV AUDIENCE 2014/15 season, this equated to Premier League, which is absolute numbers of 6.8 million sizeable number in a country of 5.3M viewers watching at home and 1.2 fewer than fi ve million people, and accounts for more than half of all OTHER LIVE TOP 12 LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES IN football fans. Not content merely to VIEWERS NORWAY, 2014/15, BY TOTAL VIEWERS watch their teams on the television, 2.7 M 1. Chelsea v Swansea Sat 16:00 which remains the most popular 2. Aston Villa v Arsenal Sat 16:00 way to watch live matches, many TOTAL LIVE Norwegian fans have visited the VIEWERS 3. Chelsea v Man Utd Sun 18:30 UK to watch their heroes in the 4. Man Utd v Chelsea Sun 17:00 fl esh. Live games screened in 8M 5. Arsenal v Chelsea Sun 17:00 Norway in 2014/15 have a cumulative 6. Man Utd v Arsenal Sun 17:00 live audience of more than eight HIGHLIGHTS, NEAR- LIVE BROADCASTS 7. Arsenal v Southampton Wed 20:45 million viewers. AND REPEATS SIGNIFICANTLY 8. Chelsea v Man City Sat 18:30 Football enjoys large support INCREASED THE because of its accessibility — it’s TOTAL NUMBERS OF 9. Man Utd v Burnley Wed 20:45 VIEWS ACROSS played a lot in schools and is cheap 10. Man Utd v Stoke Tue 20:45 to play. While domestic Norwegian 4,750 HOURS OF PREMIER LEAGUE 11. West Ham v Arsenal Sun 14:30 football is strongly supported, there BROADCASTS IN 12. Chelsea v Liverpool Sun 17:00 SOURCE: REPUCOM 2014/15 is a general perception that the main NORWAY IN 2014/15 premierleague.com Case study 35 93,000 OF ALL COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE BRITISH ISLES, MORE FANS TRAVEL TO ENGLAND FROM NORWAY TO WATCH LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES THAN FROM ANY OTHER FOREIGN NATION. AROUND 80,000 PER SEASON MAKE THE TRIP. SOURCE: VISIT BRITAIN 2015

million watching out of home DATASHARE DIVE: OF VIEWING BY DEVICE: PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE MATCHES cumulatively. TV COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ The majority of those watching at CONSOLE TABLET home (77%) did so on television, with IN HOME this ‘captured’ share providing an + + absolute total of 5.3 million viewers. 85% To put that in perspective, that is the 77% 17% 6% equivalent of every man, woman and child in Norway watching more than one Premier League game each last SCREENS COMPUTER/ MOBILE/ season at home on TV. The balance OUT-OF-HOME CONSOLE TABLET of in-home viewers in Norway + + watched on PCs and laptops (1.2 15% million) or via smartphones and 63% 21% 16% tablets (375,000 viewers). The majority of out-of-home viewers in Norway for live matches last season (63%) watched on screens most-watched games were midweek in public places, equating to 752,000 fi xtures (listed below) and they people across the season, with 21% involved clubs as various as or 244,000 viewers, watching out of Southampton, Burnley and Stoke home on PCs and laptops and City as well as Manchester United 190,000 on smartphones and tablets. and Arsenal. The most-watched live games in The two most-watched matches of Norway last season indicate a the season were both 3pm Saturday breadth of interest in different clubs kick-offs in the UK, screened at 4pm and a good appetite for matches local time in Norway while three of across the week, not just in ‘big the other most-watched six games match’ time slots on Saturdays and were at 4pm on Sundays, UK time, or Sundays. Indeed three of the dozen 5pm in Norway.

“You haven’t seen a real match before you’ve been in England and experienced it” Premier League fan,

“When it comes to excitement I would say the Premier League is the best. They surprise you often and it’s a more unpredictable game” Football fan, Oslo PREMIERLEAGUE.COM

PREMIER LEAGUE + SPORTCAL INSIGHT PICTURES: ACTION IMAGES, CORBIS, GETTY