What UK sports fans want from broadcasters in 2026 

Fans care less about who's showing the match than whether they can find it. This is according to MTM's ScreenThink tracker, which offers comprehensive data on over 100 TV and video services. Our Research Director, Jamie Simpson shares what this means for sports rights strategy. 

A fragmented broadcasting landscape 

More than half of sports fans, 56%, feel that how sports rights are currently split across broadcasters doesn't serve fans well. That's an industry-wide perception rather than a mark against any one broadcaster, but it's shaping behaviour regardless. 

Only 15% of sports fans are confident they know which TV or streaming service is showing a specific game or tournament before they go looking for it. For 1 in 5 that uncertainty is enough to consider watching outside official channels altogether. 

Access beats brand loyalty, everytime 

Just 13% of sports fans say they care more about who's broadcasting a sport than being able to access it at all. 

That points to where broadcasters can most usefully focus: making access effortless, as opposed to just securing the rights. 

What builds loyalty: proof the rights money is doing something for fans 

There's a route through this, and fans are open to it. Forty-nine percent believe broadcaster investment enables innovations that improve how they experience sport, and 51% believe UK sports fans and competitions benefit from the money that comes from broadcasting rights. 

Sky Sports+ is a working example. Its 2024 launch guaranteed fans of all 72 non-Premier League EFL clubs a minimum of 20 TV appearances a season, turning rights investment into something fans could point to and recognise as a direct benefit to them. 

Rights alone aren't the whole job 

Investing in sports rights doesn't automatically build a lasting association with the sport itself. It takes time and consistency to earn that, which is exactly why broadcasters with decades of history in a sport, a Sky Sports or a BBC, hold a kind of loyalty that a single rights cycle can't buy on its own. 

A packed sporting summer in 2026 reshuffled which platforms fans call their must-haves, a reminder of how quickly that hierarchy can move. Which platforms gained and which lost is in the full Wave 18 report. Why this matters more than any single stat A rights deal doesn't buy loyalty in sports broadcasting outright. Broadcasters build it by proving the investment is worth something to the fan watching, rather than assuming exclusivity alone will do the job. Three questions to ask about your own sports rights strategy 

• Could your fans confidently say which service is showing your next big fixture, without having to check? 

• If you've invested in exclusive sports rights, have you told fans what that investment has changed for them? 

• Are you building an association with a sport that will outlast this rights cycle, or renting attention for a season? 

Get the full picture This blog covers one shift from the latest wave of ScreenThink. The full report breaks down how every major broadcaster and streaming service is performing on first-choice status, content perception, and audience trust, wave on wave, going back to 2017. Find out more about ScreenThink, or get in touch with our team to talk through what a subscription would cover for your business.