NAGRA has outlined seven key guidelines for sport OTT providers in its Global Market for Premium Sports OTT Services report.
NAGRA’s main points of guidance for pay-TV providers are:
- Live sports are the last bastion of live TV, making it mission critical for pay-TV companies to retain tier-one sports rights in their bundles
- Pay-TV companies appear well positioned to retain the tier-one sports rights
- Platform providers such as Amazon and the major sports broadcasters are likely to be the two most significant threats to pay-TV providers’ retention of tier-one sports rights and customers
- Pay-TV providers will continue to rationalise their investment in tier-two sports rights and tier-two entertainment channels
- Sports OTT providers will continue to experiment with different pricing and packaging models, seeking the right balance between being attractive to consumers and being profitable
- Pay-TV providers will need to evolve their service offerings in response to agile challenger brands who are offering innovative viewing experiences for sports fans
- Pay-TV providers must continue to take steps to limit the impact of sports streaming piracy by leveraging new anti-piracy technology and industry collaboration, particularly as 5G begins to roll out
“Sports have been a key driver of growth in pay-TV for more than two decades,” said MTM managing partner Jon Watts. “However, the rise of sports OTT has introduced a new wave of competition and innovation into the market, prompting traditional providers to adapt their pricing, packaging and overall value propositions to stay successful.
“This report brings to light the key trends, challenges and opportunities of the global sports OTT market to help both service providers and sports rights holders prepare for the future.”
The full report is available to download here.
