Even More for 2005, Following Sky Sports’ Busiest Year
SKY SPORTS broadcast more programming in the last 12 months than in any previous year with 38,375 hours of sport screened during 2004.
There were nearly 2,000 hours more across the five dedicated Sky Sports channels – Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3, Sky Sports Xtra and Sky Sports News – than in the previous calendar year, 2003.
Sky Box Office and PREMPLUS offered an additional 175 hours of sport including live coverage of five World Championship boxing bills, ‘The Showdown’ in darts, WWE Wrestling and additional Barclays Premiership matches.
A number of new broadcast deals were also secured including live domestic and Test cricket from 2006-2009, Rugby Union’s Premiership and England autumn internationals until 2010 and Super League rugby until 2009.
Over the next 12 months, Sky Sports viewers can look forward to:
* THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS – All three Tests and all eight tour matches exclusively live from New Zealand.
* UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – Up to 14 live matches a week including exclusively live coverage of Wednesday night
games and live coverage of the Final.
* WORLD CUP FOOTBALL – Exclusively live coverage of at least 18 qualifiers, featuring each of the home nations plus the Republic of Ireland- including October’s match between Wales and England.
Over the last 12 months, the most televised sports on Sky Sports were:
Hrs 2004 Hrs 2003 Change on yr
Football 5,735 5,334 +7.5%
Golf 3,636 3,524 +3.2%
Cricket 2,406 2,751 -12.5%
Tennis 1,114 1,089 +2.3%
Rugby League 1,092 1,020 +7.1%
Rugby Union 1,249 830 +50.5%
FOOTBALL: Sky Sports showed 430 live matches during 2004 featuring live domestic, European and international matches. This included the start of the new 3-year deal for live coverage of the Barclays Premiership, over 80 live matches from the UEFA Champions League, and World Cup Qualifiers featuring England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales.
GOLF: There was golf programming every week of the year. The 35th Ryder Cup was exclusively live and interactive on Sky Sports in September and attracted a record golf audience for Sky. Sky digital viewers had access to a range of interactive options through Sky Sports Active. The event was one of 85 tournaments shown on Sky Sports, featuring live events from the European and US Tours, World Golf Championships and Majors plus Seniors’,
Ladies’ and amateur tours.
CRICKET: Sky Sports screened 182 days of live cricket during 2004, including every match in the ICC Champions Trophy and each of the NatWest Series and NatWest Challenge ODI’s. In total, Sky Sports screened 22 Test Matches and 62 One-Day Internationals, featuring every Test nation, with coverage from
England, Australia, Sri Lanka and West Indies, as well as 33 domestic matches, including 12 from the Twenty20 Cup.
RUGBY UNION: This showed the greatest growth in live coverage of any sportwith a third more live coverage than the previous year. Sky Sports broadcast live rugby union every month and followed domestic, European and international competition. There were 157 live games from across the Heineken Cup, Zurich Premiership, England’s autumn internationals and the southern hemisphere – including each of the home nations on tour – plus the Varsity match, Army & Navy match and Women’s Cup Final.
TENNIS: Sky Sports broadcast the US Open live & interactive as well as all nine ATP Masters Series events, the Nottingham Open, World Indoor Tournament, ATP World Championship and the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup. For the US Open Sky Sports digital viewers could choose from up to five different courts simultaneously by pressing the red button on their remote handset to activate the multi-screen option.
RUGBY LEAGUE: There were 117 matches on Sky Sports covering live Rugby League at all levels, from the first ever Tri-Nations Series to the Varsity match as well as Australian Rugby League and the World Club Championship.
SKY SPORTS ACTIVE: Football First launche in August,offering a 55-minute supercut from each of the day’s Premiership matches, allowing Sky digital viewers to choose which of up to 8 matches they want to watch. Live UEFA Champions League coverage offered up to 14 exclusively live matches each week. Interactivity was also available on Barclays Premiership football, the Ryder Cup and US Open tennis.
For more information please contact:
Sky Sports publicity on 020 7800 4254
Thursday 30 December 2004