AI might help take sports streaming to another level
AI might help take sports streaming to another level
A new survey from Hub Research shows the success that Prime Video’s AI-assisted broadcasts of ‘Thursday Night Football’ games has had among fans.
With cable and broadcast channels losing viewers every day, major sports leagues are thinking about the next way to distribute their games. Consider the NFL; a league once wary of streaming now has deals with Netflix and Prime Video, and has also streamed games on ESPN+, Paramount+, and Peacock. As viewers follow sports to streaming, a new survey from Hub Research shows that streamers should strongly consider incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into the viewing experience.
Key Details:
- In its Prime: Seventy percent of fans who saw Amazon’s Prime Vision on “TNF” were positive about its features.
- I’m a fan: A majority of sports fans say they’re excited for more sports content to become available on streaming.
- A lesson for ESPN?: ESPN is preparing to launch a new streamer, and AI features could help it gain traction.
Hub’s “Evolution of Sports” survey zoomed in on the Prime Vision presentation of “Thursday Night Football” games on Prime Video. This offers an AI-enhanced overlay that can communicate key aspects of the game to viewers, such as which defender is likely to blitz, where soft spots in the defense might be on a given play, and more.
According to Hub, 57% of NFL fans with Prime Video say they noticed at least one Prime Vision feature during the course of a game broadcast. Of these, 70% were positive about the features, and 26% “loved” them, saying they made the game more exciting and immersive. Only 6% said they didn’t like the Prime Vision version of “TNF” broadcasts.
Among those who say they enjoyed the Prime Vision experience, 82% said they were excited to see more sports become available on streaming services. This opinion is shared by other sports fans; 56% of all fans say they’re excited to stream more sports as well.
Eighty percent of respondents who liked the Prime Vision broadcast of “TNF” games said they like it when streaming services that don’t usually have sports offer a live game. Perhaps most critically, 76% said that if the same game were offered on streaming and cable, they’d choose to watch via streaming — a sentiment that 54% of general sports fans share.
“These findings underscore that new tech won’t engage consumers, just because it’s new,” Hub founder Jon Giegengack said. “Many ‘enhancements’ in the past haven’t added value, or worse, have gotten in the way of the experience. But Prime Vision appears to elegantly thread the needle, improving the experience for fans who choose to use it and instilling confidence in fans about Prime as a ‘home’ for sports content in the future.”
The data could be especially important for ESPN to take note of as it prepares to launch Flagship, its new streaming service that will be available some time before the start of the 2025 football season. More AI features could help Flagship’s game broadcasts stand apart from the competition, and may help convince dubious customers to pay $30 per month for a service that delivers just a few channels — even if those channels are the most popular sports networks on the market.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.