A new report by strategy consulting firm Altman Solon suggests sports rights owners and media partners need to put technology and new partnerships at the centre of an evolving, agile offering in order to keep viewers engaged.
Altman Solon’s 2023 Global Sports Media Survey includes a poll of more than 150 global sports media executives to understand the priorities and solutions for a changing industry.
It finds that sports media has reached peak fragmentation, which is strongly impacting fans’ content access and consumption habits, adding the current industry structure may become unsustainable for all market participants.
The rise of on-demand consumption habits among younger fans is driving an evolution of content distribution formats, states the report.
Multi-platform formats can help sports content reach a global audience, it suggests, as fans from different parts of the world can follow teams and athletes without the limitations of traditional broadcasting territories. The report adds that rights owners and media partners should look to ideas such as interactive feeds, micro-betting, gaming/esports integrations, and social engagement in order to keep their viewers’ interest.
“It turns out fans actually want more content, but often can’t afford the costs of additional subscriptions or get lost in the web of channels and streaming platforms providing content,” said Altman Solon director David Dellea.
“Some form of industry consolidation seems likely, either through audience aggregation or content democratisation, which should be beneficial for both the industry and sports fans.”
