The ongoing fragmentation of live sports across traditional television and streaming continues to cause confusion for fans who are simply trying to watch the games they want, according to a new report released by Nexxen.
The report, based on a survey of nearly 1,200 American sports fans who affirm watching live games at least once per month, said nearly 60 percent of fans have struggled to track games across broadcast, cable and streaming TV because of sports rights that largely exist across all three.
For many sports fans, it isn’t enough to just sign up for cable or satellite to watch the games they want — they also need streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video or Peacock to stay on top of the action. Basketball, baseball and hockey fans have to take on a larger amount of streaming services, while football fans have largely been subjected to one-off games streamed on Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube throughout the season — unless they like a team from out of town, in which case, they need those services and NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube, too.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents say they struggle to find where games are taking place in any given week, while half of Americans have missed at lest one game because they couldn’t figure out how to access it on TV.
The majority of sports fans — 83 percent — said it’s on TV networks and streaming platforms to offer clear guides pointing them to the availability of games across channels and services. Some connected TV platforms, like Roku, have developed sports-focused menus that attempt to do just that.
Streamers are likely in the best position to address the issue: Nexxen said nearly three out of four sports fans are watching live games through streaming platforms, while 54 percent still have a cable or satellite subscription in order to stay on top of the action.
Most sports fans are using at least three different subscriptions to track live games throughout a season, Nexxen said.
Football remains the leading attraction for viewers, with 82 percent watching the sport, followed by basketball at 57 percent and baseball at 45 percent. Football also plays an important role in streaming subscriptions, with 74 percent of respondents identifying the sport as a reason for subscribing to connected TV services.
When sports fans get frustrated, they vote with their wallets: Two out of five sports fans said they’ve canceled a subscription within the past year, with 32 percent saying high subscription costs were the reason for their decision. Nearly one-quarter of former subscribers said they simply found a better provider that works for them.
Nexxen also examined which streaming platforms consumers associate with live sports: Prime Video led at 55 percent, followed by YouTube TV at 46 percent, Hulu with Live TV at 44 percent, Netflix at 43 percent and Peacock at 40 percent.
The full report from Nexxen is available to view by clicking or tapping here.
