High definition television is currently the most popular platform for enjoying sports, according to new research conducted for the third annual Global Sports Forum Barcelona.

Currently, just over 58% of sports fans in the UK name HD TV as the platform that helps them most enjoy sport, with more traditional mediums such as radio slipping far down the radar, at just 19.7%.

Under a third (30.9%) of sports fans in the UK have invested in 3D, but this looks set to change as two thirds of us (62%) are considering upgrading in order to enjoy the events of London 2012 in all their 3D glory.

When it comes to the Games themselves, surprisingly Gymnastics (42%) is the London 2012 event that sports fans are most looking forward to viewing in 3D, with the ever-popular sprinting events (33%) coming in second, closely followed by diving (29%).

Once the television set is switched off, we tend to turn to the internet over the more traditional mediums of newspapers or the radio to get our sporting fix. 74% of us log on at least weekly to keep up-to-date with our favourite sports online, either through following teams on social media, watching live streams of events or reading online news stories. This looks set to grow, with three quarters of us expecting to increase our consumption of sport online over the next decade.

Lucien Boyer, from the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, who commissioned the study, commented: “It has been eye-opening to take a look at the way that sports fans currently prefer to interact with their passions, and how this looks set to change in the future. If the results are anything to go by then shops had better start stocking up on 3D televisions well in advance of next year’s Olympics to meet the anticipated demand – not least for the gymnastics events!”

The Global Sports Forum takes place in Barcelona (9th-11th March) and is organised by Havas Sports & Entertainment, the global sports and entertainment communications network.

Beyond attitudes towards technology, the study also looked into subject areas such as views on the Olympic Games, and the popularity of social media within sport.

www.globalsportsforum.org