The research, based on data from 2,000 sports-minded SVOD users and 3,000 general subscribers, could be good news for NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform, which has the rights to stream the Paris Games in the United States this July. But it’s not just Peacock that will benefit. Bango’s report suggests the quadrennial sports event will be a boom for sports-themed SVOD services across the country.
- The report contends that sports-themed SVOD subscribers typically adopt more services — seven per person compared to a U.S. average of five — they’re also willing to pay significantly more for those services.
- The average sports SVOD subscriber pays $1,440 per year for all of their subscription services — or $120 per month. In contrast, the average non-sports U.S. subscriber pays $77 per month (66% less).
- According to the report, a combination of diverse broadcasting rights, disjointed platforms, and rising prices is driving demand for more centralized streaming services.
- Over half of sports SVOD subscribers say they can’t afford all the subscriptions, while 73% agree that there are too many services required to cover the sports they’re interested in.
Bango believes that 87% of Sports SVOD subscribers want a single content hub to centralize all of their sports services (and more) into one place. Without this sort of solution, 55% of sports streamers admit to using pirate streaming services to access their favorite content.
“Clearly there’s a huge demand for sports streaming, but the current lack of centralization is undermining this valuable market,”
CEO Paul Larbey said in a statement.
Larby said the market fragmentation has resulted in new alliances forming among erstwhile competitors. This includes the pending effort by ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to build a single sports streaming platform.
Bango’s research shows that 70% of sports SVOD subscribers want their cell phone provider to offer an all-in-one subscription platform. Three-quarters (76%) even say they’d pay a higher monthly bill if this service was included.
Larby said he believes sports fans are willing to pay extra to watch the content they are interested in, and understand this content will come from different providers.
“Super bundling finally brings that level of flexibility to the sports industry by collating disjointed services into one singular platform,” Larby said. Indeed, Verizon is bringing multiple sports-themed SVOD services under one roof, including the NBA and NFL+, as well as sporting news subscriptions like The Athletic. This approach creates the opportunity for people to mix and match, according to Larby. “That’s good news for sports fans and will bring more paid subscribers to the sports broadcasting industry as a whole,” he said.
Source: mediaplaynews.com
