Yahoo Sports is entering the free ad-supported television (FAST) market with the debut of Yahoo Sports Network, a new channel offering live and recorded programming across major connected TV platforms and its own website.
The channel is produced in partnership with C15 Studio, the company behind other FAST content streams like F1 TV, and will deliver more than 60 hours of original sports-involved programming each week. Shows will cover all things sports involving the NFL, NBA, MLB and combat sports, among other franchises, and will incorporate highlights and original commentary throughout the broadcast day.
Most Yahoo Sports web series like “The Ariel Helwani Show,” “Yahoo Sports Daily” and “Inside Coverage” will stream on the channel, as will “Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.” Yahoo Sports Network will also feature recorded episodes of “The Kevin O’Connor Show,” “Football 301” and “Network with Rich Kleiman.”
At launch, Yahoo Sports Network will be available on LG Channels and Sling Freestream, the latter of which is widely available on connected TV platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV (Google TV) and Apple TV through the Sling TV app. In the future, Yahoo Sports Network will be available on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Fire TV Channels, Plex, Prime Video, The Roku Channel and Fubo. A web version of the stream is also accessible through the Yahoo Sports website.
Ryan Spoon, the President of Yahoo Media Group, said the new service reflects the company’s momentum in video.
“Our video business is growing rapidly across the number of shows we produce, the hours of content we deliver, and most importantly, the viewership by fans,” Spoon said. “We are excited to officially launch the Yahoo Sports Network and make it widely available across leading FAST services.”
Yahoo says it has seen a significant growth in the audience for its original sports programming, with watch time for its web series on YouTube increasing tenfold over the past year. More than half of its original sports shows were launched within the past 18 months.
As an ad-supported streaming channel, Yahoo says it is hoping to court prospective advertisers who want to run spots during available commercial breaks, which aims to engage an ever-growing audience of sports fans who are growing comfortable with watch live events and analysis programming on streaming platforms.
