One screen just isn’t enough anymore. In an increasingly digitized world, consumer behavior has shifted, and engagement has never been more important for streaming companies. The battle for the second screen is apparent and it will impact how audiences watch content, especially live sports.
According to a recent Nielsen report, the general population has increased its multi-screen viewing activities by an average of 5% over the last year, with that percentage doubling to 10% among Gen Z. This includes playing games while streaming, texting friends, posting on social media, and even ordering food.
It’s impossible to deny the impact that digital connectivity is having on the way that viewers engage with video content. In total, 47% of the sports watchers on TV or digital platforms simultaneously watch other live content. This is significantly higher than the general population (33%).
Traditional linear TV is holding on to sports for as long as possible, as live sports remain a key driver of engagement with linear TV programming. However, in the U.S., subscriptions have been down 18% since 2019 as linear TV struggles to retain customers. American consumers spent 32% of their TV time using TV-connected devices in September 2021, up from just 8% a decade prior. And as CTV devices gain momentum, access to content continues to expand, with 40.7% of fans across the globe now choosing to stream live sports events through digital platforms.
As of now, most broadcasts are surrendering the second screen to social media. However, for many, it’s time to take that valuable real estate back. The array of media options available to fans raises the bar for any platform seeking long-term consumer engagement. Given that many fans engage with other devices while they watch sports, streaming services need to explore ways to enhance the live viewing experience.
Fifty-one percent of people interested in watching sports are checking live stats while watching a sporting event. MLS fans that are also sports bettors are 33% more likely to watch live matches vs. non-bettors. Meanwhile, 10% of sports betting fans want to watch live NHL games and 5% of them are more likely to watch live NFL games. So whether by integrating data and statistics or live sports betting into matches and games, engaging fans (especially young ones) in new, modern ways has never been more necessary.
Some streamers have begun taking steps to do that. FuboTV, for instance, has features such as predictive gaming, a sports gambling app called Fubo Sportsbook, multiview options, and even Fanview which can pair four simultaneous streams with a scoreboard to track scores of games in order to increase the likelihood that fans will use their platform to stream all of their favorite games at once.
Hulu Live TV’s No-Ads tier has a Watch Party integrated into the platform. However, titles not supported by Hulu Watch Party include live television and premium add-ons, which could be hurting them in terms of viewer engagement. Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, and Disney+ all have Watch Party options as well.
Peacock recently gave its premium subscribers access to live footage of the Winter Olympics. The service also offered replays, highlights, and nonstop commentary from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart, an obvious ploy to get Gen Z on the platform.
According to Hollywood Reporter, “the streaming audience for Beijing was either the largest or second largest for any Olympics to date, depending on the measurement. Streaming on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app had an average primetime viewership of 516,000 viewers, up 8 percent from the summer and an all-time high for any Olympics in the streaming era. Streaming made up about 4.5 percent of the total primetime audience for the games.”
From a fan perspective, short-form news, recaps, highlights, and Q&As are highly sought out by younger audiences. From a growth perspective, long-form original series and interactive event content focused on gaming, contests, and raffles will be critical in attracting younger viewers who haven’t been engaged as of late. Nielsen believes that finding a way to engage audiences with the right content could potentially grow the global Gen Z fan base from 25.2% to 27% in the next 18 months.
Whichever company cracks the code of a compelling mobile offering to live alongside big screen programming just might be able to hook younger viewers, who are more prone to multitask.