What do Britons make of emerging sports properties?
It’s entirely possible for an emerging sports property to become a global phenomenon: just look at UFC. Others can carve out their own niche, accumulating popularity gradually over decades. Not all are so lucky, of course.
So which have the public heard of, and which are they most interested in? New YouGov data reveals all.
The Hundred has the most name recognition among the leagues and events we surveyed
We asked British sports fans about a range of emerging sports properties and events. The Hundred has the most brand awareness – 52% of sports fans have heard of it. This is probably why the cricket competition also has the highest level of interest (31%).
No other property has a similar level of recognition or curiosity. Over a third of sports fans have heard of LIV Golf (36%) but just 15% are interested in it; and a mere 14% have heard of the Sidemen Charity Match (14%), with just 6% interested. E1 series has 12% awareness, with 8% of the public saying they might pay attention to the all-electric powerboat racing contest, and the Baller League – a six a side football contest performs similarly (10% vs. 7%).
Every other emerging property we polled has below 10% awareness and interest, which may highlight two problems for these competitions. The obvious one is the lack of name recognition – more marketing and advertising efforts could be required to break these contests out of their respective niches. The other might be a branding issue: when told these competitions’ names, sports enthusiasts aren’t necessarily very interested in them.
There’s also the widespread perception that there are simply too many sports. Some 53% of British sports fans agree there are “too many” sports leagues and competitions (with 15% in dissent), and that they don’t need any more. That said, 35% also agree (vs. 22% who disagree that it’s “fun” to see new and exciting sports leagues and competitions.
Still, on the commercial side, British sports fans aren’t yet at the point where they’re willing to pay to watch these properties on TV or streaming. Some 79% say they would not fork out any cash, while just 21% say they would. This falls a little for younger Britons aged 18-34 (70%), and rises among Britons in the older 35-54 (79%) and 55+ demographics (83%).
Britons aged 18-34 are somewhat more likely to be aware of most of the sports we polled. Awareness of The Hundred, for example, rises to 55%, and for LIV Golf it rises to 39%.
That said, most sports fans with an interest in any one of these emerging sports properties keep up with them via live TV or streaming highlights (75%) or online highlights (63%).
More than half (53%) follow them on social media, and just 26% attend these events/leagues in person.
Will this change – and can these properties emerge into the mainstream? It may depend on the sport, on the market, and on shifting consumer opinion.
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YouGov polled 1,049 British sports fans in May 2025. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. The margin of error is 2% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Self-serve.