According to a new report published by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, just under half of all men have admitted to having streaming sports illegally online at some point.
And 17 per cent of men have admitted to never paying to watch their favourite sporting event whether it is boxing, football or just sport in general.
Football is obviously the most streamed sport accounting for 76 per cent of all online sport watched illegally, whilst 57 per cent and 42 per cent had admitted to watching rugby and boxing illegally.
It would seem that sport is no longer the preserve of the working class man as it once was, as it is now packaged in way where many just can’t afford it, especially in these times of austerity.
So many people from all over the world are now streaming it illegally for free with little or no legal consequence.
Predictably price was the main reason behind men using the web to watch sports with 84 per cent giving it as their explanation.
“It’s obviously something that is widely done; however streaming live sport online is illegal. Many sports packages are indeed very expensive, but there are always other ways to watch! I suspect many people do this already, but remember you can always get down to your local and watch there!,” said Mark Pearson of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, who carried out the study.
“Sport is a great talking point, so it’s always a good idea to watch it with friends and do some socialising. If you’re watching a relatively small match, it may even be cheaper to go to the game! It’s also a good idea to look out for any discounts or deals that might be available to help you cut the cost of TV packages.”
Sky has of course tried to attempt to change the way you can view sports with their Sky player and with the evolution of HD and more recently 3D.
The media-giant is hoping to offer a service that the online community just cannot provide, but it’s of course always a matter of price and your average person does not have 3D TV let alone Sky 3D.
It’s quite obvious that if you can’t afford to pay for Sky then you have a choice of the pub, which costs money to drink, or go online and get a stream for free. And with lost revenues to the shady streamers there is a chance that premium sports packages will increase even more in time.
Do you think sports packages are too expensive? Would you ever stream sports online? Let us know your thoughts on this by sending us your comments below, or if you prefer, you can always tweet us instead @Gadget_Helpline