Although it may surprise you, the future of streaming is not going to be in the release of movies or series. Those cartridges have already been burned and experts have proof that it will be something else that makes the difference: football and sports. Those who adapt will survive, but perhaps not all platforms will succeed.
For weeks we have not stopped reading news related to the launch of new streaming platforms included in the world of sports. The foundations are being laid for a changing of the guard that could occur sooner than expected and that has the capacity to generate a most explosive shock wave.
We have to make a difference
The problem with streaming platforms is that they have all been evolving in the same direction. Whether it’s Netflix, Disney+ or HBO Max, they all have their own quality series that the audience devours from start to finish in long marathons. They also have film premieres, programs or even reality shows. In general, all streaming services follow that same line and are taking the industry to a point where it lacks hook.
Sport enters this equation. Consumers are showing that, no matter how many movies or series they get, what they never miss are the games. Football, in particular, moves thousands of euros and generates interest among millions of people. A single match can generate a higher audience level than any original series produced for streaming. And that’s not something that’s going to change. For this reason, streaming platforms are looking at sport with increasing interest.
This study confirms it
The latest research carried out here Hub Entertainment Research under the title What’s the Score: The Evolution of Sports Media, demonstrates all this and provides a series of figures and data of interest that help to see more easily the situation the market is going through.
There are several significant points in the investigation. One of them confirms that sport is the type of content that most interests users. And it does so with an extreme difference. 80% of those surveyed say that, during league seasons, games are their favorite content. And of this amount, 36% affirm that the games are placed above any other content that can be imagined. Therefore, it will not matter if you release the new season of Stranger Things or Daredevil, if there is a football match, the user will choose to play the latter.
Another of these points reveals that 75% of sports lovers recognize that they would subscribe to a new streaming platform if they needed it to watch their favorite league or competition. The study mentions sports such as the NBA, the NFL or football as the main disciplines that would make users consider subscribing to the platform that broadcasts the games they want to watch.
Furthermore, and this is important, it is revealed that sports have the maximum possible capacity to ensure that users end up opting to watch other content in a complementary way. That is, the playback volume of a streaming platform will be higher in total if it offers sports. The idea is that a user watches a game on the service and, when finished, is carried away by the recommendation to watch a certain movie. In some cases, you can include ads between matches and promote viewing of your own content, which would lead to more time spent on the platform.
31% of those surveyed say that they usually watch those series or movies that are promoted in advertisements during the games. Furthermore, speaking of traditional television, 27% say they do not change the channel when the meeting ends. Applied to streaming it is basically the same: the user would remain within Netflix after watching the game and would not change apps.
As stated in the conclusions of the study, these data make it clear that sports are going to have the last word when it comes to the future of streaming. And it is not surprising, since the main platforms are already developing related plans. You just have to see that there are more and more services that offer live sports, as has been the recent case of Netflix with tennis and racing, or Apple, which has trusted Leo Messi to attract new subscribers.
Furthermore, there is something that particularly convinces streaming platforms: having the assurance that users who subscribe to watch LaLiga, for example, will guarantee a few hours of viewing each week. That is something different from what happens among those who watch series or movies, users who can perhaps go weeks without watching anything on the service to which they are subscribed. It is really important for streaming platforms to make use of them, and sport could be an ideal solution.
Those who do not like sports may not be convinced by the idea, but it is obvious that sport and, in Spain, especially football, are going to be the option that all platforms resort to. Time to time.
