Live sport remains an important content genre with the ability to attract consumer eyeballs and improve customer loyalty for both telcos and TV operators.

However, TV operators (FTA and Pay TV) which until recently were the undisputed leaders in providing sports content, are being disrupted by sports streaming apps and telcos.

The last decade has seen massive disruption and a significant rise in competitive intensity in the telco and media industries. For telcos, as pricing and margin pressures intensify and core telco offerings become commoditised, they will look towards product differentiation as a way to capture a greater share of the consumer’s wallet. Media companies have been at the receiving end of the unbundling or disaggregation of content and the shift from linear to on-demand viewing. The acquisition of premium content rights offers a chance to boost the value and appeal of other products and/or content and stand out against competitors that all now provide services that have become widely commoditized for both telcos and TV operators.

Contents

Key takeaways

Introduction

• The rising ‘appification’ of sports content
• The cost of acquiring premium sports rights keeps going up…
• The rise of Streaming Sports Video on Demand

What do consumers want?

• Most frequently used sports streaming app in Australia
• Sports streaming usage
• 5G and sports streaming – network slicing will play a key role
• AFL, NRL and Cricket are the most popular sporting codes that are streamed
• Traditional TV and sports
• Final thoughts

List of charts/tables

Figure 1. The rising ‘appification’ of sports content

Figure 2. Annual cost of sports rights in Australia (A$mn)

Figure 3. Most frequently used sports streaming apps

Figure 4. How often do you use sports streaming apps?

Figure 5. Sports streaming usage by age

Figure 6. Willingness to pay for a 5G enabled sports streaming plan

Figure 7. Willingness to pay for a 5G enabled sports streaming plan – by age

Figure 8. Willing to pay a premium for 5G and maximum monthly spend on sports apps

Figure 9. Willing to pay a premium for 5G and willing to switch providers if your favourite sports app was bundled with a mobile plan

Figure 10. Most popular sports that are streamed

Figure 11. Telcos and sports rights

Figure 12. Most frequently sports viewing platform