Why ticket prices and TV subscriptions for watching sport are rising in the UK

Watching live sport in the UK is becoming an increasingly expensive luxury. A day of Ashes cricket at Edgbaston will start at £115 in 2027, a standard seat at the Wimbledon singles finals will reach as much as £400, and general admission for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone begins at £289. The rises have angered many supporters, yet stadiums remain full and the cost of TV access keeps climbing for those who prefer the sofa.

• The cheapest Ashes ticket at Edgbaston jumps from £65 in 2023 to £115 in 2027.
• The most expensive standard Wimbledon final seat rises by £50 on 2026 and is more than double the 2017 price.
• Silverstone raceday general admission reaches £289, compared with £189 in 2021.
• A day at the 2027 Ryder Cup will cost €499, against a maximum of €260 in 2023.
• In a BBC Sport poll, 95% of respondents said 2027 Ashes tickets were too expensive.

Sharp rises across the Ashes, Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix

The ticket prices announced for major events in 2027 reveal a striking escalation. For the Ashes, the cheapest admission at Edgbaston will be £115, an increase of £50 in just four years. The minimum price when the same ground hosted a Test in 2023 was £65. Entry at other venues, including The Oval, is even higher, while during the last series in Australia some seats were available across the five grounds for between £16 and £22.

Tennis follows a similar pattern. The most expensive standard seat for the Wimbledon singles finals will cost £400 next year, £50 more than in 2026 and more than double the figure from 2017. Even so, London's major remains the cheapest of the four Grand Slam tournaments. A Centre Court ticket for the middle Saturday is now at least £130.

In motorsport, general admission for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has risen from £189 in 2021 to £289 for raceday. The cheapest allocated seat will reach £609, up from £276 five years ago. Golf is not immune either: general admission for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor will cost €499, far above the €260 maximum charged in Italy in 2023.

Cricket fans feel pushed out: "normal supporters are being priced out"

The reaction from fans has been blunt. Lee Hanlon, an England cricket supporter who lives close to Edgbaston, has decided not to attend the 2027 Ashes because of the price rise. He describes the situation as ludicrous and believes many ordinary cricket followers have been priced out. His feeling is one of anger and sadness: he senses that only people with money now go, and he finds the increase upsetting.

It seems like a lot of the normal cricket fans have been priced out. It seems like just people with money are going now.

Golf has also seen prices jump. A day at The Open at Royal Birkdale cost £150 earlier this year, compared with £95 at St Andrews in 2022. FA Cup final tickets ranged from £50 to £285 in 2026, whereas the range in 2016 was £50 to £120.

How event organisers justify the increases

Those in charge of major events argue that their pricing reflects the so-called experience economy. Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, says people increasingly value belonging and the atmosphere of a live occasion, and that ticket prices are set by benchmarking against other leading sporting events for price and value.

Golf offers another revealing figure: ticketing generates less than 20% of The Open's total revenue. Darbon estimates that hosting the tournament now costs 25% more than five or six years ago, an additional £10-12 million. Even so, The Open keeps half-price tickets for spectators aged 16 to 24 and offers free entry for children.

Premium hospitality is pushing up the cost of standard tickets

A quieter factor is the growth of hospitality ticketing. Many major events and new venues are increasing the proportion of premium seats, which drives up costs for supporters who simply want standard admission. Richard Flint, chairman of hospitality platform Seat Unique, observes that more ordinary people are willing to pay for a special sporting experience.

Corporate boxes are being broken down into individual seats for couples or small groups. Teams and leagues want to grow their revenue through this segment, which attracts people who attend one or two games a year or who travel from abroad. Flint adds that premium income can help fund a new stadium or stand, bringing benefits to the everyday fan.

TV bills rise as rights become more fragmented

Armchair fans are not escaping the price pressure either. Live sport has become one of the most reliable ways for broadcasters to make money, and a sector whose value is unlikely to be seriously damaged by artificial intelligence in the coming years. That has drawn more companies into bidding for sports rights, and the fragmentation forces fans to hold multiple subscriptions.

A football fan in the UK needs Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Amazon Prime and Premier Sports to watch every match across the Premier League, Champions League and Scottish Premiership. An annual TV licence is also required for certain matches on BBC and ITV. Without special deals, following other sports can be even more expensive.

Pete Oliver, DAZN's CEO of growth markets, says a fragmented sport makes a poor proposition for fans and a weak commercial opportunity for a platform. He accepts that entertainment costs will rise over time because of natural inflation, competition for rights, athletes' wage demands and leagues' commercial ambitions.

A ceiling on prices, piracy and the call for a "Spotify of sport"

TV revenue remains the largest source of income for Premier League football, although it has plateaued somewhat in recent years. Broadcasters are not always paying significantly more for rights, but fans are still being charged extra to watch. Greater competition, rising operating costs and an uncertain long-term financial model all play a part.

Pierre Maes, a consultant in sports media rights, believes that in the short term fans who avoid illegal solutions will pay more. However, he sees a ceiling approaching: high prices and fragmentation lead to piracy, and audiences show no moral resistance to it. In the long term, he argues, there is no alternative to a Spotify-style model for sport; otherwise major competitions will lose supporters and attention.