One in four US subscribers will sign up to a new streaming service to watch the Olympics
May 14 2024 - 7:00AM
One in four American subscribers (29%) will sign up to a new
streaming service to watch the Olympic Games this July. For those
who already pay for at least one ‘SportsVOD’ streaming platform,
this figure jumps to a massive 66%.
That’s according to the latest research from subscription Super
Bundling provider Bango, released in its new Going for Gold
report.
The research, which calls on data from 2,000 SportsVOD
subscription users and 3,000 general subscribers, could be good
news for NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform, which secured the rights
to stream the Paris Olympic Games this July.
But it’s not just Peacock that will benefit, Bango’s report also
points to a booming SportsVOD sector across the USA.
Not only do SportsVOD subscribers typically adopt more
subscriptions — 7 per person compared to a US average of 5 —
they’re also willing to pay significantly more for those
services.
According to Bango’s analysis, the average SportsVOD subscriber
pays a massive $1,440 per year for all of their subscription
services — $120 per month. In contrast, the average US subscriber
pays just $77 per month (66% less).
Despite this high market value however, Bango’s analysis also
points to challenges in the booming sports streaming space.
According to the report, a combination of diverse broadcasting
rights, disjointed platforms, and rising prices is driving demand
for more centralized streaming services.
Over half of SportsVOD subscribers say they can’t afford all the
subscriptions they want, while 73% agree that there are simply too
many different subscription services needed to cover the sports
they’re interested in.
Given this fragmentation, 87% of those paying for SportsVOD
subscriptions are calling for a single 'content hub’ to centralize
all of their sports subscriptions (and more) into one place.
Without this sort of all-in-one solution, 55% of sports streamers
admit to using pirate streaming services to access all of their
favorite content in one place.
As Paul Larbey, CEO at Bango explains, “When half of all sports
fans admit to online piracy, you know something’s gone wrong.
Clearly there’s a huge demand for sports streaming, but the current
lack of centralization is undermining this incredibly valuable
market.
“This fragmentation means that new alliances are forming among
competitors. The combined effort by ESPN, Fox, and WB Discovery to
build a single sports streaming platform is just one example, but
we predict other collaborations will continue to define this
space.”
In terms of what this collaboration could look like, Bango’s
report points to the rise of Super Bundling, with a growing number
of sports fans combining different sports packages through a
third-party such as their wireless or cell phone provider. In fact,
Bango’s research shows that 70% of SportsVOD subscribers want their
cell phone provider to offer an all-in-one subscription platform.
Three quarters (76%) even say they’d pay a higher monthly bill if
this service was included.
As Paul Larbey comments, “Sports fans want choice. They are
willing to pay to watch the content they are interested in, and the
reality is that this content will come from different providers. As
a result, sports fans want to simplify this arrangement through
easy billing and control of subscriptions. And they want
flexibility and the ability to build their own bundles.
“Super Bundling finally brings that level of flexibility to the
sports industry by collating disjointed services into one singular
platform. Already, Verizon is bringing multiple SportsVOD services
under one roof, including the NBA and NFL+, as well as sporting
news subscriptions like The Athletic. This approach puts the
subscriber first, creating the opportunity for people to mix and
match. That's good news for sports fans and will bring more paid
subscribers to the sports broadcasting industry as a whole.”
About BangoBango enables content providers to
reach more paying customers through global partnerships. Bango
revolutionized the monetization of digital content and services, by
opening-up online payments to mobile phone users worldwide. Today,
the Digital Vending Machine® is driving the rapid growth of the
subscriptions economy, powering choice and control for
subscribers.
The world's largest content providers, including Amazon, Google
and Microsoft trust Bango technology to reach subscribers
everywhere.
Bango, where people subscribe. For more information, visit
www.bango.com
Media contactLuke Proctor / Tina
SangWildfirebango@wildfirepr.com
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