Back with a bang, Tuesday saw the first match of the return of the much anticipated UEFA Champions League exclusive to TNT Sports, as Manchester City look to defend their crown under manager Pep Guardiola.
And, yet again, sport has proven its power in delivering strong footfall and great sales for the UK on trade, despite miserable weather across the board.
The welcome return of the UEFA Champions League kicked off the week in style with some exciting games including Bayern Munich outclassing Manchester United in Munich, Real Madrid beating Union Berlin 1-0 with a late winner from Jude Bellingham and Arsenal thrashing PSV 4-0 in their opening game, after a lengthy 6 year absence from the league.
Oxford metrics show that pubs screening the games on Tuesday saw an increase in their average number of visitors, +12% compared to a usual Tuesday night, with the North East showing the highest increase (+17%), as the Magpies cheered on their team after a 20 year absence from the Champions League. On Wednesday pub visitors were up again, and even the turbulent weather didn’t deter the fans, as venues showing the game in London saw a +11% increase in footfall versus an average Wednesday evening.
Add to this the return of the Europa League on Thursday with Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham all in action, and the trade really saw the benefits of sport in their pubs, a trend set to continue over the weekend as the Rugby World Cup starts to get really interesting.
So what did this mean in terms of draught beer and cider sales?
Quite simply, outlets that showed the Champions League generated more sales this week compared to outlets with no football showing. Over 6.6m pints were served across the UK with Tuesday +31% vs. venues with no football.
The average pub served 487 pints of Draught Beer & Cider over the three nights, equating to a £2,230 income generator and an additional 88 pints served to thirsty football fans.
Every UEFA Champions League match from the group stage to the final live over the course of the 2023-24 season will be broadcast exclusively on TNT Sports, as will the entire Europa League, meaning real benefits for TNT Sports outlets.
Alasdair Collis, Commercial Director at TNT Sports, comments: “It is wonderful to see customers returning to the on-trade to enjoy first class hospitality and live sport. The 2023-24 season is already shaping up to be a real winner for licensed venues and we are genuinely delighted to be able to provide our customers with great entertainment and strong footfall.”
Draught volume data is powered by VIANET.
