Case Study: Tackling Football Season - TV Viewing Habits include “Sports Sneaking”

As the air turns crisp and your neighbors start sporting their favorite jerseys, it’s time to settle into a cozy season while streaming your favorite games. For Peacock, one of the nation’s leading streaming platforms for live sports, they got curious about how to better understand their sports viewers and promote their wide live sports coverage. In collaboration with Sage Outcomes, the Sports Sneak project aimed to reveal these emerging trends and engage viewers in innovative ways, including the reality that viewers were “sneaking away” from family and work events to find out what was happening with their favorite teams! 

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The Challenge

Peacock wanted to investigate the phenomenon of “sports sneaking,” identifying who these viewers are, why they do it, and what opportunities this behavior presents for engaging them with additional content. “Sports sneaking” was defined as the act of ‘sneaking’ watching sports during an activity or an event where sports-watching isn’t typically allowed or encouraged. 

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Our Approach 

To gather insights, Sage Outcomes conducted a comprehensive online survey. We surveyed a broad U.S. audience across multiple demographics to understand the motivations, behaviors, and experiences of sports fans who engage in “sports sneaking” during key events such as the NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl, and NBA Finals. Key data points and open-ended responses provided a deep understanding of how sports fans balance their passion with other life events.

Key Findings 

• Nearly half of “sports sneakers” identified themselves as passionate supporters, acknowledging their love for their team but drawing a line when it comes to risking significant consequences.
• 65% of respondents admitted to being “sports sneaking” culprits, with the most commonly sneaked sports being the NFL.
• The top events for sneaking included the NFL Playoffs (46%) and the Super Bowl (41%).
• Sneaking strategies varied, with fans repositioning their chair or device to watch without others noticing (44%), hiding their device (42%), or taking extended bathroom breaks to catch key moments (37%).
• Motivations for sneaking were split between thrill-seeking, avoiding spoilers, and die-hard fandom. Interestingly, over half (58%) of respondents had never been caught sneaking sports. 

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The Outcomes 

The phenomenon of “sports sneaking” revealed fascinating insights into viewer behavior, providing valuable information for Peacock to better engage this unique audience segment.

• Passionate but Secretive: Nearly half of the respondents admitted they are passionate about their teams but know there are limits to how far they’ll go to watch games, especially in social settings.
• Culprits and Events: 65% admitted to sneaking sports, with NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl being the most commonly sneaked events.
• Sneaky Strategies: From repositioning chairs (44%) to sneaking away to the bathroom (37%), sports fans employ creative ways to keep up with games without being noticed.
• Not Always Caught: 58% have never been caught, but those who do often cite lack of discretion or being too loud as the reasons for getting busted.
• The social aspect: Sports sneaking didn’t always end in reprimands.  Nearly 1 in 4 of those who were caught reported that their “catchers” ended up joining them in watching the game (23%). 

Peacock can now tap into these insights, using them to create more tailored marketing and promotional strategies aimed at this dedicated, thrill-seeking group of fans. The Peacock team successfully used these insights to generate buzz for their new streaming packages for the NFL. 

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Conclusion

This case study highlights how the simple act of watching sports can blend with everyday life, creating moments of sneakiness, camaraderie, and dedication. Peacock’s deep dive into sports sneaking has provided insights that will guide future engagement strategies, proving once again that for many fans, nothing—not even a wedding—comes between them and their favorite teams. To read more about this project, you can visit the article published on Peacock's or NBC Universal website.