live sports blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: live sports

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the digital entertainment world. Check out the latest from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage - games, video, music, audio, social, or critical developments.

DAZN bets on sports streaming future being driven by fandom

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Ben Woods

3 Aug 2023

The streaming-TV industry has an engagement question to answer. Of late, the dominant services have been preoccupied with soothing investor concerns over the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on subscriptions....

min read

Sports broadcasting is ripe for disruption…and creators know it

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Ben Woods

4 Apr 2023

The former Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique made a surprising claim last month (March 2023). To promote his Twitch football channel, the Kings League, the retired centre back unfurled a giant banner in...

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YouTube has dismantled the walls between social video and SVOD

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Ben Woods

24 Jan 2023

How do you define YouTube in 2023? The Google-owned app has evolved into a complicated media outfit. It stretches beyond social video content and deep into subscription video on demand (SVOD). It is a...

min read

What broadcasters should learn from Sky Sports misstep with influencer IShowSpeed

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Ben Woods

29 Nov 2022

Content Creators

After collaborating with the social media influencer IShowSpeed (Speed) earlier this month, Sky Sports was left with a bitter taste. Speed, who has amassed 13 million subscribers on YouTube for his livestreams...

min read

Super League feels the cost of forgetting fans

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Hanna Kahlert

23 Apr 2021

Sports has an age problem among its audiences. Around half of consumers over the age of 45 watch live sports on TV, dropping to less than a third of those under the age of 24 as of Q1 2021 (source: MIDiA...

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D-Day for sports has finally arrived (…in Italy)

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Tim Mulligan

29 Mar 2021

Last Friday the sporting world moved one pivotal step closer to a streaming-first future. Sports video subscription service DAZN has now secured the rights to broadcast all Serie A matches for the next...

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Is gaming the solution to sports’ Gen Z problem?

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Alistair Taylor

8 Mar 2021

It has been well-documented that Gen Z’s and Generation Alpha’s interest in watching live sports has waned . It is important to dispel the notion that the younger cohorts are less likely to engage...

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Watch Together: BT Sport adapts to lockdown, offering synchronised group streaming

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Alistair Taylor

4 Feb 2021

The pandemic-enforced prohibition of fans in attendance at sporting events has weakened the viewing spectacle, forcing rights holders and operators to experiment with the viewing experience. The NHL pioneered...

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Why the NFL is targeting ‘cord-nevers’

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Alistair Taylor

14 Jan 2021

For decades, rights holders have prioritised (and relied upon) exponentially increasing broadcast revenues as a mechanism for sustainability and growth, a legacy approach that is in dire need of a review...

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English Premiership Rugby gets set for a digital shake-up

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Alistair Taylor

17 Dec 2020

English Premiership Rugby

Tech major Amazon is reportedly looking to add to its burgeoning sports right portfolio, targeting the domestic broadcast rights for English Premiership Rugby. London Irish owner, Mick Crossan, confirmed...

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DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

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Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

subscription video on demand

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its...

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DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

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Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

betting company

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from...

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Why the sports broadcast model is now under threat

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Alistair Taylor

6 Nov 2020

Sinclair Broadcast Group

sports broadcast

The Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results earlier this week, which highlighted the detrimental impact sporting investments had on its balance sheet. A 37% year-on-year (YoY) increase in...

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Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

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Alistair Taylor

22 Oct 2020

DAZN’s recently-established position as the ‘Netflix of sport’ has been a hard fought one, requiring extensive rights investment in order to carve out a compelling proposition. In the markets where...

min read

The Premier League going pay-per-view means a sucker-punch for sports fans

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Alistair Taylor

15 Oct 2020

English Premier League

English Premier League (EPL) clubs have agreed an ‘interim solution’ to allow fans to continue watching their teams live. EPL fixtures not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans...

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DAZN financials: Growth reliant on premium domestic rights

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Alistair Taylor

14 Sep 2020

DAZN’s 2018 financials highlighted the difficulty of encouraging a transition to consume live sports digitally with its existing portfolio of rights. DAZN has not yet released its 2019 financials, but...

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Wanda Sports Group’s financials highlight long-term impact of live hiatus

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Alistair Taylor

3 Sep 2020

Wanda Sports Group’s (WSG) Q2 financials highlight a significant decline in revenues on account of “the broad effects of COVID-19 mitigation efforts”. WSG reported a second successive quarter of...

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Fortnite’s Party Royale provides sports untapped avenue for reaching digital natives

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Alistair Taylor

19 Aug 2020

Universal platform

Burgeoning universal platform Fortnite’s ‘ Party Royale ’ is slowly becoming the gateway for rights holders to reach digitally native audiences. Party Royale, Fortnite’s ‘ experimenta l’ game...

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Return of the fan: COVID-19 thwarts fan pilot sporting events amid regional spikes in cases

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Alistair Taylor

6 Aug 2020

Just when sports fans thought it was safe to go back into the water, COVID reared its ugly head once more. UK fan pilot sporting events were all set to start allowing fans back into arenas and attend live...

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TwitchSports: Amazon throws sports into the starting line-up

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Alistair Taylor

29 Jul 2020

Amazon-owned Twitch is no newcomer to sports. However, in a deliberate move to double down, Amazon has conceded that it needs to improve the discoverability of live sporting events for its platform users...

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