Events that are streamed live on the net are growing in popularity among internet households, especially live sports, according to a study released by Parks Associates.
The report, “Livestreaming: The Next Hot Video Market,” indicates that more than 40% of U.S. internet households have streamed content over the past three months. More than three out of five households (61%) were watching a streaming sports event.
The study also found that consumers who livestream spend about half their online video time watching live events.
“Traditionally, live sports programming has performed well,” observed Parks Contributing Analyst Eric Sorensen
However, “pre- and post-event programming does not perform nearly as well in terms of ratings as the actual event itself,” he told TechNewsWorld. “These facts apply to both linear television and live streaming platforms.”
Sorensen explained that live sports programming is migrating to online platforms as more rights become available.
“Numerous streaming providers continue to outbid one another for coveted sports media rights,” he said. “Sports consumers do not want to miss ‘water cooler’ moments with their favorite sports teams.”
Sorensen noted that Hulu with Live TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ are key providers that now offer live streaming services that are challenging Netflix’s leadership position in the OTT ecosystem.
He maintained that offering live streaming content is not just a chance for Netflix to acquire new subscribers, but also to retain existing ones. “Sixty-four percent of Netflix subscribers currently live stream content on other services,” he explained. “By livestreaming, Netflix could retain longer engagement with its service.”
“This is particularly important in light of Netflix’s recent earnings call announcing their expectation that they will lose millions of subscribers in 2022,” he said. “There are several opportunities for a service like Netflix to provide egaming, esports, and red-carpet premiere events as livestreaming entertainment, in addition to sports and news.”
From the article, "Study Finds Sports Is King Among Livestreamers by John P. Mello Jr.
So, given all of this then, how can we predict such strong performance for a category that doesn’t have the best track record? Consider this: According to Parks Associates, more tan 100 million U.S. h...
Sixteen percent of U.S. broadband households admit to either using someone else’s credentials to stream cable TV or sharing their login info with someone outside their home, according to Parks Associa...
“Online pay TV is going to have a significant affect on the television market, and by the end of this year we’ll be talking about both those services that succeeded … and those that did not succeed,”...
In the period of just one year, big-box retailers including Best Buy, Lowe’s, Apple, Target and Sears, dramatically increased shelf space and visibility for smart-home devices. Even Whole Foods, acqui...
