NewsNews12 September 2022

Football is the most popular sport for Ukrainians, according to the results of the Gradus study

The Gradus research company commissioned the 1+1 media group to conduct a sociological study on the consumption of football content during the war in Ukraine. Thus, during the research, 717 respondents aged 18-60 who live in Ukraine and are interested in events in the field of sports were interviewed.

  "In view of the situation surrounding the broadcast of matches of the Ukrainian Football Championship, we, as a company that works systematically and consistently, decided to order a separate sociological study and find out the needs and expectations of Ukrainians in the field of sports events during wartime. We hope that these data will be useful to all stakeholders, and each of them - The Ukrainian Premier League, the Ukrainian Football Association, football clubs and broadcasters will rely in this difficult period not on assumptions or business interests, but on the real needs of Ukrainians , " 1+1 media commented.

  Respondents were asked what sports they were interested in, how and where they watched football events before and after the start of the full-scale war, what watching football matches means for them, which football events they are interested in and whether they are willing to pay for watching the Ukrainian Football Championship. how do you feel about the UPL's decision regarding paid broadcasting.

Yes, 72% of respondents answered that they are interested in football and regularly watch football events. Watching live broadcasts of matches is the most common way of tracking events in football. Before the start of the full-scale war, 68% of respondents interested in football watched live broadcasts, and after February 24 - 45% . The main football events are matches with the participation of the national team of Ukraine (74%) , and for 52% these are matches of the Ukrainian Football Championship.

As for viewing sources, Ukrainian sports fans by a huge margin choose free ways to watch matches - 87% , including on national TV channels - 71% , and 16% of respondents choose to watch free YouTube broadcasts.

The main reason for unwillingness to pay is the lack of extra funds for this due to the war, as stated by 51% of respondents. At the same time, 17% emphasize that it is unacceptable to charge an additional fee during the war for broadcasting the Championship of Ukraine. Another 14% said that they are not going to pay extra money for football broadcasts.

It is worth noting that with the beginning of a full-scale war, sports and football matches, in particular, became a real opportunity for Ukrainians to at least partially distract themselves from the horrors of wartime and a chance to get a charge of positive emotions, relieve tension - these characteristics received 39% and 36% of votes. For a third of the respondents, it is also an opportunity to return to a peaceful, pre-war life during the broadcast. A quarter of respondents said that currently watching matches of the Ukrainian Championship is a way to support Ukrainian sports and their favorite teams.

Research methodology:

Gradus is a system of quick sociological online surveys based on a panel-type sample using the Gradus mobile application. The target group of the study: men and women aged 18-60 who live in cities with a population of 50K+ of Ukraine and are interested in events in the field of sports. Total number of interviews: 717 respondents.

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