International Audience Paved The Way For Premier League Summer Series
2023 is the year of football, with renewed international interest giving rise to the first ever Premier League Summer Series. But, how much has interest in the game actually grown? And, how successful has the Summer Series been? Let’s take a look.
Interest in football seen global boost
Global interest in football has been on a steady rise over the last decade, so much so that around 40% of people worldwide identify as football fans. This also extends to the number of people playing the sport, which amounts to around 270 million people worldwide, not including unofficial matches or those who simply enjoy a kick about in the park with their friends. Due to this renewed global interest in football, the popularity of football-inspired media has also seen a rise.
One of these forms of media drawing inspiration from this popularity is football-themed slot games, such as Big Football Bonus, which incorporate features that are more commonly utilised in live casino games. For example, when you play Crazy Time, the ultimate online casino game containing multiple gameplays in one, players place bets on where the wheel will stop. However, with football-inspired slots, they play on the make-or-break nature of the beautiful game by introducing the chance to spin a wheel where you either win or lose. Introducing such a high-stakes feature into slot games reflects something more akin to an authentic football experience.
The entertainment industry is also capitalising on the popularity of football, and can potentially be credited with helping to spread the game to a wider global audience. The comedy-drama series Ted Lasso, for one, reached a series high viewership in May, with 795 million minutes of watch time in just one week, according to Variety Magazine. In addition, Welcome to Wrexham rose to be one of the most popular programmes across all streaming platforms within a couple of weeks of its release.
But, how does the popularity of the Premier League compare to these general trends?
Popularity of the Premier League and the Summer Series
In the thirty years since its formation, the Premier League has become known as the best-known and most-followed football league in the world, according to Statista, with games being broadcast by 90 reporters, across 400 channels, in 188 countries, and watched by 800 million devices worldwide. The popularity of the league across the pond – boasting over
750,000 viewers per game for the 2022/23 season – is what led organisers to launch the Premier League Summer Series in 2023. This was only the second ever Premier League competition to be played outside of the UK, after the Premier League Asia Trophy.
The Summer Series ran between 22nd and 30th July, and consisted of pre-season friendlies, which were played in various NFL and MLS stadiums across the USA – New Jersey/ New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Atlanta.
Only six teams competed in the debut tournament – Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa, Brentford, Fulham, and Chelsea. Though official viewing figures are yet to be released, the matches have attracted attendances of between 40,000-66,000 on average, which is a promising result for those hoping for a Premier League Summer Series in 2024.
Fingers crossed that the Summer Series will return after the end of the 2023/24 season, this time with more teams, and visiting more US stadiums
Image: Unsplash
