HOCKEY FANS ARE CHANGING, GAMES ARE BEING WATCHED MORE AS A FAMILY

Watching ice hockey is more of a family affair, with up to 65% of women cheering on their partners, opening up new communication opportunities for brands.

Ice hockey continues to be the most common sport that Czechs fans in the domestic market. This is true for 59% of the Czech population, and for a third it is even the number one sport. It is followed in popularity by football, biathlon, motorsport and tennis. Meanwhile, the hockey fan base is expanding, with many more watching matches with their families and 65% of women spending time with their partners, which brings new communication opportunities for brands. This is according to a survey by research agency Ipsos for the Czech Hockey Association.

Watching hockey on TV increased year-on-year

Hockey is most often watched by Czechs on TV (46%), with the number of viewers of men's hockey increasing by 6pc year-on-year this year, mainly due to this year's World Championship, where Czech players won gold. This has also led to an increase in the proportion of merchandise buyers (10%). In addition, fans watch games on the internet, with around one-fifth going to sports stadiums.



Three quarters of fans look for information about Czech hockey online or on social media, only a third get it from television and a fifth discuss it with people close to them. Among social media, Facebook is still dominant, with 52% of fans visiting it several times a day. This is followed by Instagram and, by a wide margin, TikTok and X. BeReal is used by 12%, and only sporadically. Most people value photos (59%), videos (53%), followed by text (46%). Contests are searched by a quarter of fans, chat with a celebrity by 11%. A tenth of Czechs use the Czech Hockey mobile app.

New fans attract new sponsors

This year, watching men's hockey has become more of a family affair. 65% of women cheered with their partners, children of fans also watched the games, and men watched more often with friends (51%).

"Last year, fewer women reported watching men's hockey with their partners than this year (56% last year, 65% this year), which is related to the fact that women mostly support the national team and the World Cup has attracted their attention. But in general, women get into cheering through their partners or family, while men do it for the sport itself," explains Renata Novotná for Ipsos.



The expansion of the fan structure has opened up new communication opportunities for brands that had not previously considered sports sponsorship. "Working with data generally helps us in our cooperation with all partners. By using fan data and predicting the partner-generated media value, we have been able to reach brands not traditionally associated with sports sponsorship - examples include Uber, which was a partner last season, and Samsung and Notino, which were at the 2024 World Cup. At the same time, our advanced data analytics and reporting also bring value to traditional partners such as Škoda Auto and Pilsner Urquell. These partners have access to superior data outputs that enable them to better target their activities and communications," explains Matej Kraus, Marketing Manager of Czech Hockey.

This year's success contributed to the positive perception of Czech Hockey

Thanks to this year's success of the national hockey team, the contemporary associations with Czech Hockey were also significantly influenced. Negative sentiment from last year has been replaced by mentions of pride, champions or gold medals, and in general there is a significant increase in positive perceptions of the sporting brand. Among the partners, Pilsner Urquell stands out for fans. The perception of Czech hockey players has also improved year-on-year, with 84% of fans seeing them positively. Players from the 2024 World Championship have gained in popularity, including Pastrňák, Červenka, Gudas, Dostál and Nečas.



"Success at the home World Championship is an important communication theme for us, and we will try to make the most of it this season. However, our strategic planning is not only dependent on sporting success. We plan to further develop key projects in the areas of digitalisation, communication and event management to ensure that Czech Hockey remains a modern and attractive brand for all target groups," Kraus says of his plans.

Source: mediaguru.cz