Data: Wimbledon streaming grows modestly
July 19, 2023
Wimbledon 2023 came to a close on July 16th and, as has been the case in other recent major sporting events, the tournament hit a record for streaming adoption — a testament to sports fans’ shift to online video platforms.
NPAW customer data shows a significant uptick in streaming usage during Wimbledon 2023 compared with last year’s event. Services with streaming rights to the tournament experienced a 1.5 times surge in the number of plays and overall playtime relative to 2022. Meanwhile, the count of unique subscribers grew 26 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
The Men’s Singles final garnered the most attention, with nearly triple the quantity of plays and unique users compared to the daily average throughout the remainder of the championship. It logged almost five times the total playtime of the rest of the tournament, which is understandable given the extended duel as Carlos Alcaraz bested Novak Djokovic.
However, despite the improved streaming consumption numbers compared to 2022, Wimbledon 2023 failed to move the needle as much as other top-tier sporting competitions. Comparing the daily average on match days with the daily average over the past 90 days, there was no escalation in streaming consumption KPIs. This denotes that this tournament does not drastically influence the overall programming agenda for clients during this period, as it caters to a more specific audience.
As for the devices of choice for streaming the championship, STBs and TVs reigned supreme, accounting for 78 per cent of total streaming playtime (50 per cent STBs and 28 per cent TVs). This implies that the majority of Wimbledon spectators prefer experiencing live matches on their television screens, staying faithful to the traditional viewing experience.
Conversely, smartphones captured just 10 per cent of the equation. This underlines that smartphones, while convenient and portable – perfect for following an event on the move or when TV access is impractical or already taken – are not the go-to device for most viewers.