Sports based OTT subscribed in 16% of US households

According to Parks Associates, one in 6 US broadband using households subscribe to an OTT sports video service. Most widely subscribed is NFL Game Pass (6%), followed by WWE Network and Baseball service MLB.TV at 4%.

“For sports content owners, OTT is a viable way to expand audience reach, but there are technical issues to consider. The user experience is of paramount importance to the viewer for sports content,” said Parks Associates research analyst, Glenn Hower.

“Leagues lean heavily on television distribution partners for revenue, and disruption to existing distribution models may give television partners pause. A rapid expansion in sports OTT growth requires either heavy external investment from a streaming distribution partner – like a Google or Apple – or a tiered business model that targets key consumers for all-access services.”

Popularity of sports based streaming is big, and has been covered here.

Source: Digital TV Europe