Distributors of live sports programming need to be willing to play on both linear and digital TV platforms in an effort to effectively reach sports fans and maximize revenue opportunities, according to executives speaking at the Next TV Summit.
With live sports programming continuing to drive ratings for linear broadcast and cable channels, executives speaking at the “Live Sports: The Last Unbundle?” panel Tuesday — part of NYC TV Week — said that high-profile sports events will not aggressively migrate to streaming services in the near future. That doesn’t mean that streaming services aren’t a suitable and lucrative destination for live sports programming in an effort to reach cord-cutting sports fans.
“There will continue to be this hybrid; there’s not going to be a single solution for any league or broadcaster,” FIFA Plus head of audience Laura Andriani said. “I think there’s going to be a figuring out process of what’s best for each proposition.”
Also: More Coverage from the 10th Anniversary NYC TV Week
Indeed, Bally Sports chief product officer Michael Allen said that while the company offers live, compelling pro sports programming through its 19 linear-based regional sports networks, later this month it will launch Bally Sports Plus, a subscription digital service that will allow consumers to purchase content from their respective regional networks outside of traditional MVPDs and satellite distributors.
“We see Bally Plus as complementary to what’s already in the market,” he said. “If [customers] are cord-cutters or cord-nevers, we now provide a new way in which they can consume this content.”
The recently launched free FIFA Plus digital service will offer more than 40,000 live soccer matches from around the world this year as a complement to the World Cup TV rights deal FIFA has with Fox Sports through 2026. Andriani says the streaming service allows the organization to superserve rabid fans with both live and originally produced content that’s translated into 10 different languages.
“Fans want to see different things, so [FIFA Plus] is really a test-and-learn [service],” she said. “There’s a need for FIFA to have a more constant touchpoint with fans, not just every four years [for the World Cup].”
Ultimately, big-ticket sports properties like the NFL, NBA and MLB will continue to have a major presence on broadcast television, but for second-tier sports like rugby, track and field or bowling, the digital platform can provide opportunities for fans to consume content from their favorite sports, according to FloSports VP of global operations Michael Levy. The FloSports subscription streaming service offers more than 200,000 live sports events across more than 25 sports.
“I see an ongoing conversion of tier-1 sports-TV rights going to the biggest players in the market, and I see more and more of that tier-2 sports-league rights being underserved and set aside,“ he said. ”Someone is going to have to fill that void.” ■
