How the future of streaming will be defined by sport
May 9, 2024
Sports are always growing and TV as we know it is changing every year, with cable TV getting slowly used less and less each year and more people streaming than ever. So how does this affect sports?
Well when people no longer use cable and only rely on streaming services, illegal streaming websites could be used as an alternative and big companies like Sky don’t want you to use these streams because they don’t make any money from it. With streaming services being used more and more people have multiple streaming services for the first time and this is a negative for TNT and Sky but a massive positive for Prime Video who have recently got an expensive, $1.35 billion deal with the Premier League for an exclusive streaming deal. With Prime, you get a more streamlined and customisable service, with the use of stats being at the forefront of the viewing experience which makes football betting a little easier as the stats are easily presented and accessible.
Disney+ and Denmark
Disney+ is one of the most recent streaming services and has already made strands to be able to have football accessible on their site. Denmark has signed a deal to allow Disney to show 340 games in a year and show all highlights etc, for no extra cost. This feels like the start of a streaming takeover for specific leagues. Some streaming services have bought the rights to leagues, like the aforementioned Prime Video, but this is the first time a streaming service has shown nearly every game for all of the top leagues in a country and we assume it won’t be the last.
Netflix and WWE
One of the more recent deals is the deal that has been made between WWE and Netflix for the streaming rights of WWE RAW, this is the streaming giant’s first time going into live streaming and this deal has been approved a year in advance to make sure it all goes smoothly. Not only does the deal give Netflix and its users access to RAW but also gives it access to the PLE (Premium Live events) including the biggest ones like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. This deal starts in January 2025 and was worth a whopping $5 billion, proving how much of an asset this deal was for Netflix.
Bundesliga and DAZN
In 2023 a deal between one of the biggest football countries in the world, Germany, and DAZN was made, with DAZN getting the rights to show all the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 games in Canada, which happens to be one of the fastest-growing countries for football support. The deal is a 3-year deal and is a great way for more eyes to be on a high level of football and for more money to be put into football as a whole.
ESPN+ and its Dominance
ESPN+ is the biggest sports streaming service in America and maybe even the world, as they offer all the most popular sports such as MLB and NFL etc, as well as UFC, and football leagues like the Bundesliga and La Liga. They also show F1 and The PGA Tour and a lot more. They are giants and dominate nearly every sport and feel like the biggest pusher for sports being all streaming.
How These Deals Shape the Future
These deals being struck between live streaming services and sporting giants show that anything could happen when it comes to the future of sports streaming. The deal between WWE and Netflix is the most significant, not only because of the sheer size of both these companies but because Netflix is in nearly every home in the world, that can afford it, and this is the biggest deal and the most accessible worldwide. A deal like this being struck with the Premier League or the Champions League would be the biggest deal in football history and a change in the guard for football streaming.