As exclusive sport streaming contracts are ending for broadcast and cable companies, big tech companies like Amazon and Apple are looking to live sports to expand their audiences.
Tech Giants are already beginning to change the sports industry. As of recently, tech companies have already began bidding for the rights to stream the NFL Sunday Ticket, a package that the league is looking to sell for $2.5 billion dollars, $1 billion more than it currently costs.
Although these high bidding tech companies might be a thrilling new venture for sports leagues, they are a nightmare for already established broadcast companies like DirectTV. The advances of Google, Amazon and Apple into cable company territory translates into more rivals that have deeper pockets to spend on streaming deals.
Already, Apple TV has claimed rights to two MLB games a week. A deal that cost Apple 85 million dollars. Amazon, on the other hand, has claimed exclusive rights to stream Thursday Night Football. An 11-year deal that sees broadcast companies like Fox and NFL Network no longer able to stream these events.
The situation of cable networks is made even worse when statistics show that live sport streaming accounted for 95 out of the 100 most viewed programs on TV. To many, live sports seem to be the only thing going for cable companies. There has been a 20% decrease in viewership on cable networks from 2015 to 2021 and its only going to continue. More and more people realize the conveniency and money efficiency of using streaming platforms instead of cable or satellite.As tech companies encroach on live sport streaming, they will slowly begin to take away sources of income from cable companies.
However, the investment into live streaming sports seems almost contradictory to how big tech companies make money. Big tech companies earn money off of long lasting subscriptions. Live sports are watched at most twice and people are uninterested in watching if the outcome is already decided. Dan Ives, a market analyst researcher, says that Tech Giants are going in on live sports because they are “the golden goose, Amazon and Apple find themselves in a unique position because of their cash piles, which…give them the ability to bid for live sports content, which ultimately will be the magnet to get more and more subscribers.”
Links:
https://mashable.com/article/amazon-apple-live-sports-streaming-nfl-mlb
Why-Big-Tech-Is-Making-a-Big-Play-for-Live-Sports-The-New-York-Times-1
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Tech Giants are already beginning to change the sports industry. As of recently, tech companies have already began bidding for the rights to stream the NFL Sunday Ticket, a package that the league is looking to sell for $2.5 billion dollars, $1 billion more than it currently costs.
Although these high bidding tech companies might be a thrilling new venture for sports leagues, they are a nightmare for already established broadcast companies like DirectTV. The advances of Google, Amazon and Apple into cable company territory translates into more rivals that have deeper pockets to spend on streaming deals.
Already, Apple TV has claimed rights to two MLB games a week. A deal that cost Apple 85 million dollars. Amazon, on the other hand, has claimed exclusive rights to stream Thursday Night Football. An 11-year deal that sees broadcast companies like Fox and NFL Network no longer able to stream these events.
The situation of cable networks is made even worse when statistics show that live sport streaming accounted for 95 out of the 100 most viewed programs on TV. To many, live sports seem to be the only thing going for cable companies. There has been a 20% decrease in viewership on cable networks from 2015 to 2021 and its only going to continue. More and more people realize the conveniency and money efficiency of using streaming platforms instead of cable or satellite.As tech companies encroach on live sport streaming, they will slowly begin to take away sources of income from cable companies.
However, the investment into live streaming sports seems almost contradictory to how big tech companies make money. Big tech companies earn money off of long lasting subscriptions. Live sports are watched at most twice and people are uninterested in watching if the outcome is already decided. Dan Ives, a market analyst researcher, says that Tech Giants are going in on live sports because they are “the golden goose, Amazon and Apple find themselves in a unique position because of their cash piles, which…give them the ability to bid for live sports content, which ultimately will be the magnet to get more and more subscribers.”
Links:
https://mashable.com/article/amazon-apple-live-sports-streaming-nfl-mlb
Why-Big-Tech-Is-Making-a-Big-Play-for-Live-Sports-The-New-York-Times-1
Download