Frequency, duration and medium of advertisements for gambling and other risky products in commercial and public service broadcasts of English Premier League football

Background: There is concern in the media and among public health professionals about the proliferation of advertisements for gambling and other risky products during sporting broadcasts and its potential impact on vulnerable groups including children and young people. Methods: An established coding framework was used to identify and categorize all instances of risky product marketing in six broadcasts of English Premier League football: three episodes of Match of the Day, a highlights program on the BBC (a public service broadcaster), and three full matches on Sky Television (a commercial subscription channel). Results: Gambling advertising occurred more frequently than either alcohol or hyperpalatable food advertising in both sporting highlights broadcasts on non-commercial UK television and full sports broadcasts on commercial stations. Overall, there was more advertising of risky products during highlights shows on the BBC than there was during live matches on Sky. Conclusions: Concern about the advertising of gambling, alcohol and hyperpalatable food has focused on commercial stations which include advertisement breaks in their broadcasts. However, this research suggests that public broadcasts of football highlights, which do not include advertisement breaks, are also saturated with gambling and other risky product advertising. Further research is needed to investigate how advertising impacts different groups, particularly children and young people.