Streaming services have surpassed linear TV among sports fans
Streaming services have surpassed linear TV among sports fans
According to a new survey from Hub Research, sports fans seek out games on streaming services more than they do on linear channels.
The evolution of sports on streaming has come a long way in the past decade. It’s been a long road from the tentative days when the MLB streamed games on Facebook as a novelty; in 2025, ESPN will launch a streaming service that allows viewers to watch every event they can see on its linear channels, with no need for a pay-TV subscription. A new survey from Hub quantifies just how far streamers have come in offering sports, and shows that network TV is no longer the primary source for live sports viewership; streaming has taken that crown at last.
Key Details:
- SVOD revolution: Subscription streamers are used more than any other source when viewers want to see a live sports event.
- First stop: Fans use streamers as their first choice when watching live sports more often than they do broadcast.
- Heeding the call: Streamers are responding to customer preferences by offering more sports.
According to Hub’s results, viewers use subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services when they want to watch live games at a rate of 69% as of January 2025. That’s a jump from 62% in January 2024, and it surpasses cable networks (63%) and broadcast TV networks (66%) as the platform viewers choose most when they want to see live sports.
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The news gets better for streaming services, as well. Streamers are now the first stop for sports fans who want to watch a given game; as of January, 30% of fans said they turned to SVODs first when they want to watch a live contest. That beats the 29% who would go with broadcast networks first, and is almost equal to the 31% who say cable networks are their go-to.
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The news from Hub goes to show why streaming services are investing so heavily in live sports these days. Data from Ampere Analysis shows that streamers will spend more than $12 billion on live sports this year, and that streaming services will account for 20% of the overall sports content spend globally.
Netflix was long a holdout when it comes to live sports, but became an NFL partner last year and also streams “WWE Raw” live every week. Prime Video will host a package of national NBA games starting next year. ESPN channels will be available outside the cable bundle for the first time via a new streaming service called Flagship, which will launch this year. This is just a short list.
Leagues were hesitant to jump into business with streamers for a long time, convinced that linear TV was the best way to deliver maximum reach and revenue. Hub’s data shows that this is no longer true, and that sports have overtaken linear TV in the minds of viewers when seeking out ways to watch their top teams.
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.