The Sky bi-annual Attention Index report has revealed that sport continues to be a major viewership driver, with sports fans watching nearly one billion hours in the second half of 2024.
From July-December 2024, fans watched 950 million hours on Sky Sports platforms, with two-thirds watching sport live.
Sky Sports has many lucrative broadcast rights deals in the UK with the likes of the Premier League, Formula One, PDC World Darts Championship and many more across various sports.
Over the past decade, its digital channels have surged in viewership amongst consumers. The report revealed that Sky Sports digital channels on YouTube viewership for the second half of 2024 stood at 1.5 billion viewers. This marks the 10th consecutive year of growth for Sky Sports’ YouTube channels, a 7% increase year-over-year (YoY).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, football continues to be the most-watched sport on Sky Sports. The Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel grew its viewership by 54% YoYr to 822 million viewers.
Sky Sports’ coverage of the Premier League is undoubtedly a major contributor to this increase in viewership. The YouTube channel uploads weekly highlights of Premier League fixtures, as well as content from its Super Sunday programming and talk shows.
Darts & F1 set new records
Elsewhere, the British broadcaster set records in other sports. The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final between winner Luke Littler and Michael Van Gerwen became the second most-watched non-football event ever on Sky Sports, with live viewership increasing by 46% from last year’s final.
Darts is undergoing a major growth period, predominantly due to Littler’s ascent as the face of the sport at just 17-years-old. The record-setting World Darts Championship Final viewership numbers will have emboldened Sky Sports to renew its broadcast deal with the PDC for its competitions, reportedly worth £125m.
Another sport that is surging in fan popularity is Formula One. The racing league has held a broadcast partnership with Sky Sports for over a decade, but is now seeing record levels of viewership of its coverage.
The Sky report revealed that the 2024 British Grand Prix became the most-watched European race ever, averaging an audience of 2.19 million viewers as the legendary British racer Sir Lewis Hamilton won his record ninth British GP.
Sky Sports will be confident of maintaining F1 interest due to Hamilton’s immense stature in the sport, as well as emerging British talents like Lando Norris and George Russell vying to compete for World Championship honours.
Women’s sports grows, but hurdles remain
Whilst men’s sports continues on an upward trajectory, women’s sport is also enjoying newfound levels of viewership, but Sky Sports maintains that hurdles remain.
Female sport viewership of Sky Sports content during the second half of 2024 contributed to 30% of its total audience. While 53% of UK adults say they are optimistic about the future of women’s sport, the data also highlights areas where progress is still needed to deepen engagement.
The report revealed that men are more likely than women to say they watch women’s sport, often drawn in through their “passion for established men’s sports and finding a distinctive, compelling version of the game in women’s competitions”.
Women are more likely to believe women’s competitions are equally as exciting as men’s, the report stated, with emerging audiences engaging in new ways, particularly in sports like women’s football and netball.
Sky Sports has remained committed to broadcasting women’s sports by renewing its broadcast rights deals with the Women’s Super League and Netball Super League, which will be expanded to include more games from each competition on its channels.
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director of Sky Sports, summarised his thoughts on the report: “2024 was an extraordinary year for Sky Sports. We secured major sports rights until the end of the decade, forged ground-breaking partnerships, and launched Sky Sports+ across TV and apps. Over the last six months of the year, the nation spent nearly 950 million hours watching sport with us, with football leading the charge as our most-watched sport.
“The thrill of Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship victory was unforgettable, and darts viewership soared by an impressive 46%.
“As the UK’s leading investor in women’s sports, we proudly offer the broadest portfolio, growing engagement, and the most live hours of any broadcaster. In 2024, women’s sports viewership reached new heights, driven by our coverage of women’s tennis and international cricket.
“We’re excited to keep innovating and bringing fans closer to the action through our unrivalled coverage. We look forward to celebrating more of the sports our viewers love in 2025.”
