It’s a Game Changer – Evolution of Football Across Europe Leads to Demand for Increased Viewing Experience at Home

It’s clear that both football and footballers have changed over the years. Players are under increasing scrutiny from every angle, from commentators analysing their skills to viewers debating their style choices. Hairstyles have gone from comb overs through mowhawks to manbuns; skills have evolved from the nutmeg to the rabona; and celebrations have moved from simple finger raises to choreographed robot routines. The game is quicker, tricks require more skill and player’s style gets ever more focus.

New research released by Samsung Electronics* investigates how changes to ‘the beautiful game’ are influencing TV purchases revealing that almost 1 in 10 (9.17%) adults in Europe are now watching, on average, more than 468 hours of football every year.  This equates to 28,080 minutes or 62.4 working days spent watching the sport.

As players are faster and skills have improved, almost one in two adults in Europe plan on investing in a new TV specifically to watch this summer’s sporting events as their viewing expectations increase.

The top three frustrations of European adults when they tune in to watch at home are; not being able to identify one player from another (28.53%); followed by not being able to see the ball as it passes from daylight into shadow (21.47%) and the screen being too small (9.8%).

Catering for all of those who want to ensure they see players in detail from every angle and never miss a moment, Samsung has introduced the latest range of SUHD TVs that offer unparalleled picture quality with Quantum dot technology, Ultra black TV panel and 1,000 nit HDR brightness.

Michael Zöller, European Head of TV at Samsung Electronics comments: “The Samsung SUHD TV is the perfect screen to watch sport on this summer. Quantum Dot technology offers the best picture quality available to ensure you see everything as if you are in the stadium. The grass will be just as green, the kits just as bright and our curved TVs offer enhanced depth perception. You won’t miss a moment of the beautiful game from the comfort of your own home, no matter how fast the action is.”

Cameraman, Andy Reik who has worked on many high-profile sporting events, comments, “HD creates a more immersive experience so the way we film the game has changed. Cameramen need to ensure they get multiple shots and capture the action from every angle. There are usually more than 40 cameras on the pitch as HD technology has doubled the picture quality.”

As well as influencing people’s viewing habits the improvement in picture quality has also led to footballers sharpening up their image.  More than two thirds (67.78%) agree that footballer’s physical appearance has improved over the past 15 years and almost one in three (32.23%) European men rank footballers as their number one personalities for style inspiration, ahead of actors, musicians and reality TV stars.

* Research conducted by One Poll (from 19th 30th May 2016) with 9,000 adults across 10 European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and UK)