Sky UK customers consumed 2bn hours in the first half of 2024

Over the past six months, Sky customers in the UK watched over two billion hours of Sky-produced content, with one billion hours specifically dedicated to Sky Sports, as informed in the company’s first “Attention Index” report. Sky News broadcasts reached an audience of 15 million viewers, while Sky Broadband customers consumed over 19 billion GB of data. Additionally, Sky Mobile customers used hundreds of millions of gigabytes of mobile data.

The report highlighted that TV viewing time in Sky homes reached unprecedented levels outside of lockdown periods, with customers averaging over four and a half hours of TV daily. A third of this time was spent on Sky's own productions, including their renowned sports, news, entertainment, and movies.

Sky Original productions saw remarkable success. "Mary & George" performed exceptionally well, while "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" garnered 6.8 million viewing hours since its May release, with each episode watched by at least 1.3 million people. The trend towards on-demand viewing was evident, with shows like Season 4 of "True Detective" amassing 10 million viewing hours since January 2024, 46% of which were on demand, a significant increase from the 9% on demand viewing of its first season a decade ago.

Multitasking while watching TV was prevalent, with 63% of viewers engaging in other activities simultaneously. This behavior spurred online searches related to the TV shows being watched. For instance, searches for the characters of "Mary & George" surged by 164% in its launch month, while searches for "Auschwitz" increased by 107% following the airing of "The Tattooist of Auschwitz," reaching the highest search volume in 20 years.

Sports remained a major attraction, with Sky Sports viewing up 17% in 2023. Over the past six months, fans watched an impressive one billion hours of sports on Sky. The audience demographic expanded, with female viewership up 18% and under-35 viewership up 26% in 2023. Football continued to be a central part of the sporting culture, with 313 million hours of live football watched from January to June and a 9% increase in viewership across various leagues. Football also drove significant traffic for Sky Mobile.

Darts experienced a surge in popularity, with the PDC World Darts Championship final viewing up by 204%, making it the most-watched event in Sky Sports history outside of football. Luke Littler emerged as a prominent figure, with his videos averaging more views than those of top footballers Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. Additionally, Premier League Darts viewership increased by 189%, underscoring darts' growing status as a popular spectator sport.

Finally, the report detailed the extensive use of connected devices in UK households. The average household now contains 21 smart devices, and activities like streaming, gaming, and social media browsing are the primary uses of home internet. This increased connectivity highlights the importance of robust broadband and mobile networks to support the growing demand.

Technological advancements and changing consumer preferences are reshaping media consumption, with significant implications for content providers and advertisers. Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky, said: “This report shows that as our viewing habits become more fractured, the competition for our attention is even greater. With UK households watching over two billion hours of content made by Sky, we’re proud of the role that we play in bringing entertainment content and sporting moments to millions of viewers.”