“Sport and the licensed trade is an obvious mix. Showing live sport brings people in, in a market where there is so much choice. That’s why I’ve always had Sky Sports in my venues. It’s a huge driver for my business and without it I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
While Duncan has owned and run many pubs and bars in his 25 years, he is currently focusing his efforts on The Red Lion in Isleworth. Your quintessential pub which covers all the bases, it is essentially two pubs in one, with one area dedicated to live music and the other showing a range of sport on the three TVs.
“We also have a big outside area,” explains Duncan. “We are planning to put TVs outside for the summer so we can show all the great live sport that’s coming up.
“Essentially The Red Lion is a place where you can come with your mates and your wife or girlfriend – we’re here to cater for everyone.”
Value add
“The value that Sky brings to the licensed trade, and the variety of sport they offer, is very important,” says Duncan. “I don’t think so many pubs should depend purely on football as there is so much more that Sky brings to the table. Darts, for example, and NFL. But you’ve got to be on your game to make the most of the range of sport on offer to you. A sports bar that shows just football might take £12,000 in a week, but in some of my venues, by showing different sports and a range of sport, it has doubled my trade.”
Duncan reveals that he has had success by thinking about how to use Sky’s breadth of coverage at different times of day to help drive footfall into his pub: “Sky Sports shows coverage of golf and tennis tournaments pretty much every week of the year, so why not think about how you can use those sports to help drive footfall? Especially during the daytime.
“Two million people play tennis in the UK and Andy Murray’s popularity continues to grow, so why not look to turn that into revenue?”
Hit for six
In a similar vein, cricket has also proved to be a real revenue driver for Duncan, although it’s been early morning cricket that has offered the most value for him.
“The Big Bash cricket from Australia has generated a lot of interest and has been brilliant for driving morning footfall,” he says.
“One of my pubs opens at 9am and we have seen a real interest from the breakfast trade that comes in to watch it. It’s been great value.”
Going further
Part of a Sky Sports subscription is the Go Further range, a selection of added-value tools. Duncan explains that making the most of these is crucial to ensuring you’re maximising your subscription.
“I’ve always said you need to make the most of everything Sky gives you alongside live sport, and we use every tool Sky can give us to get the most from our subscription.
“We use multiple viewing cards to show more than one sport at the same time, which means on certain days when sports clash, we can put on whatever we want and zone it to appeal to more customers.
“Using your viewing cards is definitely huge for attracting trade as it means we’re not just a one-trick pony and can show multiple sports On a Sunday, for example, you can’t just show the football because there’s so much going on.
“We use our multiple viewing cards to show the NFL, which starts at 5pm, alongside the football. Also, as of March, we can show the Formula 1 as well as Super Sunday.”
Planning ahead
In terms of being prepared, Duncan can’t stress just how important it is that he and his staff are fully clued up on the month’s live offering.
“It’s so important to make sure you’re up to speed on what’s coming up. You need to get on the myskysports.com website to plan ahead, and read Sky Sports Preview magazine from cover to cover so you can be sure you’re not forgetting about any key events.
“An example would be the start of the Super League season in February. Until I saw a feature in the magazine, I had forgotten it had come round again!”
Afternoon action
Horse racing is another sport that offers an extensive afternoon line‑up and has been proved to help drive business for the on-trade.
Stats reveal that horse racing is the third most-watched sport out of home during the week. And for Duncan, it has been another success story. “The Racing Pack has been a big success for us at The Red Lion, with the afternoon start times proving popular and encouraging repeat trade.
Even if it only means an extra 5-6 people coming in to your venue every afternoon, that still makes a big difference to your takings and puts money in the tills.”
Creating a theme
While it’s still early days at The Red Lion, Duncan has already hosted a couple of evenings featuring live sport with food and drink offers.
“We work hard to make sure we create an event out of big sporting occasions. For example, during the Super Bowl we had food and drink offers, promoting American craft beers and selling chilli dogs and nachos throughout the evening.”
It’s a similar story when the rugby is showing, especially international games. “When England are playing rugby we offer a typical dish from the opposition’s country – so, for example, corned beef hash when we played Argentina, which we served free of charge at half time; Biltong from South Africa. If you create a theme then you make it an event, not just a match, and that is where you get the value.”
With a busy summer coming up, Duncan says that the live cricket, international rugby and Ryder Cup golf are all key for The Red Lion.
“There’s so much coming up that I’m looking at add another TV and Sky box to help generate extra income. I have nightmares about losing my remote – I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t switch the TV on! Sport will continue to be a huge driver for my business wherever I go and wherever I open – I’ll always put Sky on and I’ll get value back as a result.”
Duncan was talking to Sky Sports Preview magazine. Preview is sent to Sky commercial customers every month, along with fixture posters, to help them make the most of their subscription.
To find out how Sky Sports can work for your venue, visit https://business.sky.com/pubs/