Pro Sports Streaming Import Grows, Amid Challenges

Discovery and monetization are challenges that streaming sports services face in the post-pandemic world, a Brightcove webinar was told Thursday. Even as fans turned to watching shows about sports in the absence of live sports, streamers, too, had a decline in time spent watching sports content, said Brightcove analyst Jim O’Neill. As live sports reemerged in the second half of 2020, more viewers turned to streaming, while traditional sports TV ratings flagged. “Traditional delivery of content, including sports, is being challenged" by desires to cut pay-TV costs and rising adoption of over-the-top video services, he said. The pandemic forced golf's U.S. Open from its familiar June slot to September, where it competed with other professional sports. “Nobody wants to go up against the NFL,” said Amanda Weiner, U.S. Golf Association senior director-digital media and ticketing. USGA's biggest challenge last year was losing the “at-work audience” that would sneak a second screen at work to watch, Weiner said. USGA launched its streaming app on Roku and Apple TV, adding Amazon Fire TV last year, to reach people "where they were," said Weiner. She said more is in the works. Livestreaming has become a critical way for USA Volleyball to reach fans amid spectator restrictions, said Chief Marketing Officer Kassidi Gilgenast. It’s a big change “to get our fans to the small screen,” said Gilgenast. USA Volleyball tried its hand at in-house streaming a few years ago but realized it needed partners, Gilgenast said. By providing a link that takes people directly to a match livestream, "we’re much more likely to convert that user, especially on the social side, to a viewer.”