The UK is facing a cost-of-living crisis, with rising prices due to inflation as a direct result of covid and Brexit. Energy bills, supermarket costs and public transport have all risen. Much of the UK are worried about how they will be able to afford essential goods and services. In a bid to save money, experts have advised the general public to cut out ‘luxuries’. This is leaving people in an unfortunate situation.
So, to save money people are listening to the experts and have started cancelling subscriptions and prioritising their money. To many watching live sport isn’t an essential (although we disagree). However, this doesn’t mean just cancelling your Sky Sports, loyal lifelong fans are being forced to stop going to games. Although ticket prices aren’t necessarily going up there are other factors to take into consideration.
Going to Games
There is arguably no better feeling then watching live sports compared to the counterparts. Live sport is a part of sports fans culture but with sports costs rising its becoming harder for fans. The price of tickets for live games has always been a well-talked about topic, especially in the likes of Football. This isn’t the only reason why fans are struggling. The cost-of-living has increased the price of everything for everyone, that includes big businesses. The daily spends for attending games can rise to hundreds of pounds. Excluding ticket prices, most fans will have to pay for:
- Transport
- Parking
- Food
- Drink
These expenses with increasing costs aren’t becoming a viable option for sports fans. This isn’t necessarily going to stop regular fans from attending sports but trying to entice new fans is a different story. Live sports games are becoming less appealing to the casual viewer, the ‘day out’ experience that live games bring to sport fans is slowly disappearing due to the cost of living. Live sports are no longer becoming accessible to fans.
All Sports
All sports, at all levels are being effected by the cost-of-living and the rise in sport costs. However, UK grassroots sports which are funded by players, charities, government funding and fans are struggling with rising costs. Local sport centres and clubs are becoming too expensive to run, from ground maintenance to energy bills, those less viewed sports are feeling the effects.
So, what can we do as sport fans? With professional sports becoming too expensive maybe its time to watch and support grassroot sports. Most cities will have access to grassroots sports from non-league football to university basketball and by watching these games fans can support local communities and still experience the thrill of live sport. Grassroots wont replace the top end of sports as the two can coexist, with changes to how we view sports there is opportunity for every level of sport to succeed.
A New Era of Consuming Sport
As sports costs rise and live sports becoming harder to access, our watching patterns have changed. As a new generation take over and the cost of living booming there’s no surprise that people are choosing to watch live sports at home. The UK have multiple streaming platforms that showcase endless sport every week and signing up is easier then ever. From days gone by were a sky sports or BT sport subscription were required, sports fans can now access this all through single streaming platforms.
- Now TV offer day passes to every Sky Sports channel.
- BT have a pay monthly cancel anytime subscription.
- Amazon Prime have gained rights to Premier league games.
- Twitch offers a variety of live streams of sports.
Although this isn’t a negative for the sporting industry it could have an effect on how sports is played, filmed and supported. Premiership club and sports will almost benefit from the increase of live streams. However, lower end clubs and sports will want to get ahead of the curve so they can utilise and monetise their existing fanbase through social media platforms. Learn more about the opportunities of social media and monetising your content in our social media monetisation e-Book.
