Sports and the Tech Majors A Competitive Partnership

The 20,000 Foot View:  The big gap in streaming video’s content mix has historically been sports. This is now changing through a combination of disruptive challenger sports subscription video on demand (SVOD) services such as DAZN accelerating its rights and territory offerings alongside the increased interest being shown by the tech majors – notably Amazon and Facebook – in streaming premium sports offerings. Accelerating this process has been the market testing of ESPN+, the first significant sports SVOD service to be launched by a heavily invested traditional pay-TV stalwart, Disney. With the future sports fans overwhelmingly digital in their consumption, and with traditional pay-TV being squeezed financially by subscriber decline, sports viewing is being rebooted for a post-pay-TV world where the tech majors are optimally placed to succeed.

Key Findings

• Between            and            the weighted weekly average usage            of Facebook in core English-speaking            declined by           
• Although Asia-Pacific            for            of Facebook’s daily active            (DAU), only            of advertising revenue            from the region
• Facebook’s video            has failed to generate the            necessary to take consumer attention            from  streaming heavyweights 
• Amazon displays            key three assets to meet            needs of rightsholders: capital, tech            reach
• Amazon subscribers            index for sports consumption:            like            live sports on TV and            watched shows or movies about            in the last three months
• With Netflix            against entering the live sports            market, Amazon is well placed            establish its video solution as            go-to sports destination
           of 20–24 year olds watch games-related videos on a monthly basis
• Only            of            year olds watch traditional sports            free on streaming services
• The more            become ‘sports’, the more that            tech companies can dilute the            of the traditional TV sports           
• Amazon as            owner of Twitch is in            enviable position of potentially becoming            ESPN of next-generation sports coverage
• As the            major with the biggest cash            (currently at            billion as of            Apple could purchase DAZN and            it to win big in            rights frenzy of 2021
• The flatline            Disney’s media networks revenue growth            the secular decline of pay-TV            across the English-speaking markets
• Serving more            cases than the current global            SVOD service will promote Disney+’s            as a true substitutive service

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Apple TV+, BeIN Sports, DAZN, Disney,  Disney+, English Premier League (EPL), ESPN, ESPN+, Facebook, Fox Sports Asia, Hulu, Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), NBA            Netflix, National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Take Two Interactive, Twitch