According to the latest edition of Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand report into the global streaming market, the prospect of following their favourite sports stars or teams is motivating one-fifth of viewers to subscribe to a streaming service.
Looking at Q3 2023, the report suggests the migration of sports content to streaming services is aggressively challenging traditional pay TV and cable services.
Cable/pay TV household penetration dropped from 44 per cent in Q3 2022, to 40 per cent in Q3 2023.
Kantar’s report states that the highest ever percentage (19 per cent) of new streaming sign ups were driven by new and expanded sport catalogues.
For the first time, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ claimed the top two spots for share of new paid subscribers, said the report, adding that sports has given both streaming services a compelling advantage in the US market. Paramount+ benefited from the return of the NFL, while Apple TV+ has scored with the MLS. Apple TV+ now only ranks second to Netflix when it comes down to subscriber satisfaction with the quality of its shows, said the repoer.
Whether by including live sport or more effectively promoting their existing catalogue, the greatest challenge for Netflix competitors remains turning initial hero title attraction into long-term subscriptions amidst the cost-of-living crisis, said Kantar. The proliferation of ‘boomerang subscribers’, who consistently rotate services that fail to capture sufficient household viewing time, is still on the rise. In an era where stacked subscriptions are prevalent, securing screen time is vital, it added.
