As sports content increasingly migrates to streaming platforms, Hub Research’s latest bi-annual study, Evolution of Sports: What’s the Score, provides insight into the viewing behaviours and opinions of sports fans.
While viewers have more options than ever to follow teams and leagues, the data found that the growing number of services carrying games is making sports more difficult to find for fans, which is leading to frustration.
According to the survey, almost a quarter of sports fans said they feel “very frustrated” while trying to find the sports they follow, with 87 per cent stating the process is at least “somewhat” frustrating.
Hub found fragmentation increases the appeal of platforms that consolidate rights to an entire sport, with 60 per cent of fans more likely to sign up for an “all rights” service and 30 per cent much more likely.
Exclusivity appears to be a driver for both acquisition and retention, said the survey. Referring to Paramount’s recent rights deal with UFC, which places all UFC events across the company’s networks and platforms, 89 per cent of avid UFC fans said Paramount+ subscriptions were more valuable as a result and 93 per cent stated it made them more likely to retain their subscription.
Jon Giegengack, principal at Hub and one of the study authors, commented, “Fans will go to great lengths to watch the sports they care about—but that doesn’t mean they enjoy hunting across multiple apps to find them. Services that simplify the experience of watching sports—whether through discovery tools or by consolidating rights to an entire sport—are delivering more value to fans. And more value means more satisfied users and lower churn.”
