According to a recent study by Parks Associates, sports networks like MLB TV and WWE Network ranked number four and number five behind the three big OTT providers (Netflix, Amazon and Hulu) in terms of subscribers. Beating them is a huge challenge. Hulu’s recent announcement to stream live TV in 2017 is an even bigger move for the service and if executed properly the rest of OTT services that don’t offer live content will need to follow. However, this move does underscore there is value to be added in live viewing. Live streaming has come a long way in the past few years, broadcasters even managed to get the past year’s Super Bowl game to millions of online and mobile viewers. But, providers are still looking to solve program delays in streaming delivery, a challenge that Hulu will have to overcome in order to be successful. These delays can last anywhere from 30 seconds to as long as two minutes with viewers hearing about a play on Twitter before it’s streamed on their laptop or smartphone. In fact, according to a study conducted by IneoQuest and Research Now, two-thirds of respondents rated their frustration with buffering video a seven out of 10 and two out of five would wait less than 10 seconds before presumably giving up and switching to broadcast. In order for sports networks to truly surpass the big OTT providers, they must first solve this issue.
From the article "The Sports Broadcast Revolution Will Be Tweeted" by Neil Maycock.
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