Pay-TV Innovation Forum: Sports OTT Accelerating, 23% of World’s Top Leagues, Federations Have Their Own Service
Cheseaux, Switzerland, July 17, 2019— NAGRA, a Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S) company and an independent provider of content protection and multiscreen television solutions, in partnership with MTM, a leading international research and strategy consultancy, today published “The Global Market for Premium Sports OTT Services,” a special report on the growth of sports OTT services around the world and its impact on traditional pay-TV service providers.
A key component of the 2019 Pay-TV Innovation Forum program, this brand-new report analyses the global market for premium sports OTT services, capturing key trends within the sector and mapping out the changing market landscape. It is based on interviews with senior executives and an analysis of the world’s leading leagues, clubs and sports OTT services.
The research defines six main categories of sports OTT providers and highlights key trends and developments in the market, exploring: paid premium OTT sports services from the world’s top sports leagues and clubs; pay-TV provider sports-oriented ‘skinny bundles’; the emergence of specialist OTT sports aggregators; and emerging sports content pricing and packaging models. It also identifies seven key implications for pay-TV providers going forward:
- Live sports are the last bastion of live TV, making it mission critical for pay-TV companies to retain tier-one sports rights in their bundles.
- Pay-TV companies appear well positioned to retain the tier-one sports rights.
- Platform providers, such as Amazon and the major sports broadcasters, are likely to be the two most significant threats to pay-TV providers’ retention of tier-one sports rights and customers.
- Pay-TV providers will continue to rationalise their investment in tier-two sports rights and tier-two entertainment channels.
- Sports OTT providers will continue to experiment with different pricing and packaging models, seeking the right balance between being attractive to consumers and being profitable.
- Pay-TV providers will need to evolve their service offerings in response to agile challenger brands who are offering innovative viewing experiences for sports fans.
- Pay-TV providers must continue to take steps to limit the impact of sports streaming piracy by leveraging new anti-piracy technology and industry collaboration, particularly as 5G begins to roll out.
“This special Pay-TV Innovation Forum report delivers valuable insight on the state of the global sports OTT market, focusing on how pay-TV operators can take advantage of the sports OTT opportunity,” said Simon Trudelle, senior director, product marketing at NAGRA. “It also reinforces our continued commitment to helping our customers leverage the right technology and expertise to scale video delivery, enhance fan engagement and take advantage of smart monetisation strategies, while ensuring that unparalleled content protection and anti-piracy solutions secure the business model.”
“Sports have been a key driver of growth in pay-TV for more than two decades,” said Jon Watts, managing partner, MTM. “However, the rise of sports OTT has introduced a new wave of competition and innovation into the market, prompting traditional providers to adapt their pricing, packaging and overall value propositions to stay successful. This report brings to light the key trends, challenges and opportunities of the global sports OTT market to help both service providers and sports rights holders prepare for the future.”
Developed and launched by NAGRA and MTM in 2016, the Pay-TV Innovation Forum is a global research program for senior executives designed to explore the biggest challenges facing pay-TV operators and content owners at a time of unprecedented change. The 2019 edition features in-depth interviews and a global survey of leading industry executives, regional findings and this special report on the growth of premium sports OTT services around the world. The flagship final report, which summarizes key findings from the program, will be published in September 2019.
