Over third of English population to follow England in the Ashes
Over one third of the English population intend to follow England in the Ashes series this Winter
Latest research from the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) shows that Cricket has grown stongly in popularity over the last six years and stands to gain from the further interest generated by the last Ashes victory during the current tournament in Australia.
To assess interest in the upcoming Ashes tournament, BMRB commissioned an independent survey which showed that 34% of the population of England aged 16+ (the equivalent of 14 million people) intend to follow the England team’s fortunes in the series
Cricket has come a long way in England since the start of the decade (2000-01), when spectator interest levels among adults aged 16+ were just 22% (their lowest in the 20 years according to BMRB’s TGI survey). The last Ashes series victory in 2005 pushed interest levels up to a 20-year high of 30%, and in the last year alone, the number of English 16s claiming to play Cricket has risen by 17% to 1.6m.
Sky may also benefit from this increased level of interest. Since securing exclusive live broadcast rights for England Cricket matches, TGI shows that Sky Sports has enjoyed increased viewing among English Cricket fans from 3.6m in the year to June 2005, to 4.2m in the year to June 2006.
James Smythe, Head of Sport Research at BMRB comments: “English Cricket has clearly benefited from the last Ashes victory, helped by the ECB’s strategy for growing the Game. The 2006 Ashes tournament is pushing interest in Cricket even higher, which is good news for both the Game and its commercial partners. But the opportunities for media owners and advertisers are not limited to Sky: the majority of fans still don’t have Sky Sports, and will have to wait 16 hours after play has ended each day to watch highlights on BBC TV. This timing should play into the hands of Radio and the Internet, who can offer more immediate access to news and results”
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Contact
James Smythe, Head of Sports Research: 020 8433 4456 mob: 07795 321135
Shireen Crowe, Press Office: 020 7664 0434 mob: 07879 417177
Editor’s Notes
BMRB is one of the largest market research agencies in the UK and winner of BMRA (British Market Research Association) Best Agency 2005. BMRB is a key operating company within the KMR Group. For more, visit www.bmrb.co.uk
The KMR Group is an integrated global research, information and software group. It manages research operations in over 30 countries worldwide, specialising in media and survey research solutions, and analysis software systems.
KMR is a division of the Millward Brown Group, part of Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy arm of WPP.
For more, visit www.kmr-group.com
Survey Information
BMRB conducted a nationally representative UK survey of 1012 adults, of which 874 were in England. Respondents were aged 16+ and contacted by telephone between 3rd and 5th November.
Key Qs
“I intend to follow England’s fortunes in the upcoming cricket series against Australia”
Strongly agree
Slightly agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Slightly disagree
Stongly disagree
TGI (Target Group Index)
The TGI figures quoted are drawn from the GB adult TGI study. A nationally representative sample of around 24,000 adults each year complete a TGI questionnaire. Data is released quarterly and fieldwork is continuous throughout the year.
