Spain: Time-shifted sport pulling strong TV audiences
September 8, 2026

From David Del Valle in Madrid



Live sport is emerging as a significant driver of time-shifted TV consumption in Spain, with some premium sports broadcasts generating a sizeable proportion of their total audience after their original transmission, according to figures from Barlovento Comunicación.

MotoGP recorded particularly strong catch-up viewing. The Aragón Grand Prix, broadcast on DAZN MotoGP, attracted an additional 193,000 viewers through time-shifted viewing, accounting for 44 per cent of its total audience.


Football is also attracting viewers beyond the live broadcast. The Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad LaLiga match (August 26th) on LaLiga TV por Movistar Plus+ added 167,000 time-shifted viewers, representing 19 per cent of its total audience. Additionally, the Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano (August 31st) match on DAZN LaLiga generated an additional 132,000 viewers, or 11 per cent of its total audience.

Formula 1 also performed strongly. The Dutch Grand Prix on DAZN F1 added 114,000 time-shifted viewers, equivalent to 22 per cent of its total audience.

The figures suggest that catch-up viewing is becoming increasingly relevant even for premium sports content, traditionally regarded as one of the strongest drivers of live television consumption.

The trend is particularly significant across Spain’s pay-TV market. Time-shifted viewing now accounts for 11 per cent of total viewing on pay-TV channels, compared with just 2 per cent on free-to-air channels.

Overall, Spaniards watched an average of five minutes of time-shifted television per person per day, representing 4 per cent of total TV consumption. Some 20.3 million people watched time-shifted content during the month, with an average daily reach of 3.3 million.