Most streamers are shrugging off the availability of sports on connected TV platforms and apps, saying the presence of live athletic events does not necessarily influence their decision to purchase, stick with or churn out of a streaming service.
That is the finding of a new consumer survey from data analytics firm Looper Insights, with 56 percent of streamers saying sports doesn’t impact their subscriptions decisions, and only 25 percent affirming their desire to continue paying for a streaming service if it includes sports.
The research comes at a time when streaming services are aggressively pursuing live sports rights to attract new customers and convince current subscribers to continue paying for a service.
Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video are among those who have beefed up their live sports rights in the United States and around the world in recent years, though Comcast’s Peacock and Paramount Global’s Paramount Plus with Showtime have also targeted live athletic events for their own growing services.
Does that make much of a difference? Maybe not. Just 19 percent of streamers surveyed by Looper Insights said they “might” cancel a service if it doesn’t offer the sports they want, while 36 percent of consumers say they prefer to watch live sports on a traditional cable or satellite TV platform.
Industry executives remain bullish on streaming’s ability to super-serve sports fans, with 57 percent believing that streaming will “fully replace” other platforms for the live delivery of sports within the next five to 10 years, according to Looper Insights.
Twenty-nine percent of industry executives said sports rights are primarily intended to drive new subscriptions to streaming services, while 14 percent said it was intended to retain current customers. More than half — 52 percent — affirmed it was a mixture of both.
“With billions pouring into sports rights, our latest report suggests the industry may be overestimating consumer demand,” Lucas Bertrand, the founder and CEO of Looper Insights, said in a statement. “While many media executives see sports as a major driver of streaming growth, 56% of consumers say it won’t influence their subscription choices, and more than half refuse to pay for multiple sports services. Add to that the rise of free, ad-supported alternatives, and we’re looking at a potential sports streaming bubble that may soon burst.”
The full report is available to download by clicking or tapping here.
