BLOG | by Charlie Dundas

Top five sports properties for Buzz. Britons were talking about these sports most in October.

The Six Nations Rugby Championship – in stasis since the start of the pandemic lockdowns in March – finally returned in October, offering British fans an escape to a pre-COVID world, just as they faced a second wave of shutdowns.

More than any other sports event in October, the long-awaited championship finale  generated the most buzz of any  sporting event in October, according to YouGov Sport’s Buzz score, which is a net score calculated by asking people whether they have heard anything positive or negative about the events in the previous two weeks.

But excitement around English triumphs didn’t end there. Among our top five events with the highest Buzz score this month, the Six Nations Championship narrowly beat out Formula 1, and Lewis Hamilton’s sixth F1 championship, which also made big noise among Britons, according to YouGov Sport data. Hamilton’s Mercedes team also sealed the Constructors’ Championship.

Of course on all accounts, matches and races were devoid of any spectators, and fans reveled in the comfort of their living rooms as lockdown measures continue to grip wide swathes  of Europe.

The French Open, the scene of Rafael Nadal’s 20th Grand Slam win (and 1,000th match win), was also in the British consciousness in October. The Tour de France ranked high on our list after long-term British success over the last 8 years. Increase in interest of the Tour also comes during a surge in bike ownership and riding during the lockdown.

Rounding out October’s top five list is English Test Cricket, following the team’s win over Pakistan in the three-match Test cricket series, something which enjoys lingering buzz after the matches that took place between August and September.

As sports fans will no doubt be looking for further distractions from the upheaval of the virus, in November we’ll be keeping an eye on the Autumn rugby tournament, the Masters Tournament in golf, the Nations League in rugby, and the ATP Tour Finals in tennis.