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As others say, Londoners/brits make a distinction between “pub” and “sports pub”, the former don’t usually have any TV (or it’s off, only used for big England games when every pub becomes a sports pub).

Contrary to your experience, I’m pretty sure that most pubs are not sports pubs in London

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They do though. The old guard keeping the depressing pubholes alive do so by watching their football there. It's usually just one or two screens, granted, but they're there. Thankfully they can be easy ignored.

I'm not into them myself, but a lot of the ones that are struggling these days are the (non-chain) old man, football, working-class pubs in struggling towns.

I'm back visiting for the first extended period of time in a decade, and the bifurcation of the drinking/eating sector is striking. So many new fancy, up-market places with food, craft beer and eye-watering prices; so many shuttered old-school pubs.

It says a lot about where we are as a country.

Blackpool meets London

This can’t be defined away. Most of the members of the set ({pubs} U {sports pubs}) have screens in London.

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