The autumn season of the Chance League confirmed the growing interest of fans in the domestic competition, according to data from the League Football Association (LFA). Viewership of league matches on Oneplay Sport rose 23 per cent year-on-year, the most significant increase in years. In the previous season, for example, the year-on-year increase was 11 per cent after the autumn session. At the same time, stadium attendance also increased.
"The dynamic year-on-year growth shows that we are succeeding in reaching an increasingly wider audience for whom watching league matches is a natural part of weekends. A big role in this is played by the improvement of the quality of the broadcasts themselves, the work of the clubs and the long-term cooperation with the broadcaster, which takes the presentation of the competition to a higher level," said LFA Sales and Marketing Director Daniel Hajný.
The most-watched match of the autumn was the Prague S derby between Sparta and Slavia in October, which was watched by more than 656,000 viewers on Oneplay Sport. It was also the most-watched Chance League broadcast ever on this channel. The second most watched match was the duel between Plzeň and Slavia, the third place was occupied by the match between Sparta and Pardubice, the fourth by Sparta and Liberec and the fifth by Sparta and Teplice.
Attendance is the third highest in history
The average attendance per match reached 6309 spectators, which is more than in the same period last year. A total of 958,920 fans attended league matches during the autumn. If this trend continues through the end of the season, it would be the third best average in the history of the competition.
Of the clubs, Slavia Prague recorded the highest average home attendance with more than 18,000 spectators per game, followed by Sparta. Slavia also had the highest stadium utilisation, reaching 95 per cent.
According to the League Football Association, the growth in interest is reflected in both stadiums and TV screens and is the result of the long-term improvement in the quality of the competition, the clubs' work with fans and the development of TV coverage. As a result, league football is approaching the historical record for average attendance set in the 1995/96 season.
Source: mediaguru.cz