Live sports are reshaping the behavior of streaming customers
Live sports are reshaping the behavior of streaming customers
A new survey from Kantar holds insights about the spread of live sports in the streaming world.
The way audiences watch sports is changing. The old world of regional sports networks has crumbled into dust, and streaming services are increasingly popular outlets for big sporting events. A new survey from Kantar reveals fascinating data about how live sporting events are driving subscriptions to major streaming services, and how fickle these customers can be thanks to the seasonality of live sports.
Key Details:
- Live sports drove large amounts of new subscribers to Netflix, Prime Video, and ESPN+ in the final quarter of 2024.
- Sports viewers have a high likelihood of leaving a streamer once the sport they want to watch ends.
- Free, ad-supported streaming declined quarter-on-quarter, while ad-free streaming rose by 2%.
The data from Kantar shows that ESPN+ and Prime Video were two of the fastest-growing streaming services in the fourth quarter of 2024. Football was the third-most cited reason for signing up to Prime Video during the quarter, and the live boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on Netflix was that streamer’s No. 1 acquisition driver in the same time period. Netflix also offered two live NFL games on Christmas Day, which no doubt also contributed to its subscriber gains in Q4.
Having live sports can be a key differentiator for streaming services, especially as Kantar has measured that streaming penetration has now reached 96% in the United States. However, streaming customers are likely to leave their subscriptions once the sports event they came to watch ends; in the first quarter of 2024, the ESPN+ subscriber influx flattened, and Prime Video’s dropped.
Kantar’s data also found that free, ad-supported streaming took a step back while viewers were seeking out paid services to watch sports on. For the first time in 2024, paid, ad-free streaming subscriptions grew 2% in the fourth quarter, while the number of users who accessed a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service declined 1%.
Tubi will provide a fascinating case study to apply Kantar’s data. The free streaming service offered a live stream of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, and is likely to see impressive growth past the 97 million monthly active users it already claims as a result. But whether it will be able to sustain that user base is a fair question, since it doesn’t carry a large selection of regular live sports programming.
“The expectations for success of streaming services are shifting,” said Kantar’s Hannah Avery. “Streaming services more and more are defining success as stability rather than growth, but even stability requires great investment into the product and content offering. Consumers expect streaming services to offer more and more single live events like we’ve seen with Netflix and will see with Tubi.”
Streamers that are aiming for stability will have to make sure they have enough content to keep sports fans around once their favorite events are over. Otherwise, the seasonality of live sports will make it difficult for streaming services to keep viewers engaged during off-seasons.
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.