YouTube has become the premiere global online destination for football, giving fans behind-the-scenes access to their favourite teams and access to must-see matches.
Today, over 300 football clubs have YouTube channels – including UEFA Champions League finalists Liverpool FC (who hit the landmark of 1M subscribers just last week) and Real Madrid.
This week, Copa90 released a new study on The Modern Football Fan which reveals an increase in football videos being consumed on YouTube. According to the study, 76% of all UK football fans watch football highlights online. Furthermore, the study found that 81% of 16-19 year old UK football fans use YouTube to watch a variety of football-related content, from official highlights to freestyle clips.
This Saturday, BT Sport will exclusively be streaming the UEFA Champions League Final on their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/btsport as well as on BT’s website and the BT Sport App. So whether you’re a Liverpool fan, a Real Madrid enthusiast, or a passionate neutral, you can follow the game live for free.
YouTube and BT Sport’s renewed partnership makes televised sport more accessible to fans across the country. BT Sport and YouTube have committed to a multi-year partnership which means fans will be able to enjoy not only the 2018 finals on YouTube, but also the 2019 finals next summer. The UEFA Champions League Final can also be enjoyed with the most sophisticated broadcast technology, giving viewers the best picture and sound experience available, with the game available in 4K UHD on YouTube.
YouTube’s Head of Sport in EMEA, Tomos Grace says: “Football is by far the most popular sport on YouTube and it doesn’t get more premium than the Champions League Final. We are delighted to be partnering for the third year running with BT Sport to make these games available live to YouTube users across mobile, desktop and tablet. In addition, viewers can cast the game from the YouTube app to their TV with Chromecast.”
Tony Singh, Content and Business Development Director says: “BT’s strategy is to give our customers the best choice of content, on the best networks. Working with partners like YouTube is absolutely central to that, and we are delighted to enter into this new agreement that will extend the fantastic range of projects that we have delivered together to huge audiences: the UEFA Champions League Final and UEFA Europa League final, free for all to watch in the UK for three years now; and delivering it in an innovative way, with BT Sport’s coverage available in VR 360 and in 4K UHD; and the first ever premiere of a premium entertainment title in the UK via social media, with AMC’s The Terror. YouTube is a brilliant partner to help promote our brilliant content.”
For further context, Copa90 assembled YouTube trends data on the most viewed football players in the UK in 2018:
1. Mo Salah (Key insight: viewership on Mo on YouTube has increased by 3,898% in the last year)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
4. Roberto Firmino
5. Virgil Van Dijk
6. Gareth Bale
7. Sadio Mane
8. Sergio Ramos
9. Trent Alexander-Arnold
10. Andrew Robertson