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Traditional TV Networks Still Reign in Sports Broadcasting

Despite the rising influence of streaming platforms in acquiring influential sports rights, recent data from Nielsen Gauge suggest that traditional TV networks continue to benefit from sports broadcasts. It was in July when YouTube set an unprecedented record, capturing more than 10% of U.S. television viewership according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge. This significant feat also marked the first time Disney has been unseated since Nielsen started tracking television usage per media company in November 2023.

YouTube has consistently risen in the ranks to become a potent force in the industry, marking its dominance on both personal computers and television displays. However, YouTube’s reign at the top was short-lived, only sticking around for a month. The viewership tide changed when the broadcast of the Olympics propelled NBCUniversal back to the dominant position.

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Further shifts were revealed last week when Disney reclaimed its top position after witnessing an impressive 17% surge in viewership for September. This surge sits as the month’s most considerable viewership increase among all media distributors. A big factor contributing to Disney’s reascend to dominance was the return of football broadcasts.

Moreover, ESPN, a Disney subsidiary, aired the highly desired NFL ‘Monday Night Football.’ This contributed significantly to the rise in the previous month’s viewership numbers for ESPN and ESPN2. Also, the broadcasting of ‘Monday Night Football’ through ABC affiliates resulted in a modest but significant boost. The cable telecast that reigned supreme last month was the Monday night fixture between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles, attracting over 13 million viewers.

Fox also experienced a sharp rise in viewership of 69% across its broadcast affiliates when compared to the figures from August. This considerable increase raised Fox’s Media Distributor Gauge score by more than one percentage point to 7.3% for the month of September. Fox has the rights to the NFL’s NFC Package, which contributed to the growth they experienced.

Sporting content continues to offer a glimmer of hope to cable and broadcast entities in an increasingly digital environment, as revealed by these statistics from Nielsen Gauge. Despite the distribution of sports rights becoming more widespread across both traditional televisions and streaming platforms, cable remains dominant. That said, the landscape of sports broadcasting has drastically changed, with streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube now forming a part of this mix.

These streaming services are continuously exploring ways to solidify their presence in the live TV domain, with sports content serving them as much as it does their cable counterparts. An example of this trend is ‘Thursday Night Football’, which has moved exclusively to Amazon Prime Video after its long stint on Fox. This move played a crucial role in Amazon achieving a record-breaking 3.7% viewership in September.

Furthermore, key sports rights acquisitions by several streaming platforms are yet to show their full potential. Amazon, for example, has pledged an additional $120 million to broadcast a unique playoff game in the upcoming 2024-25 season. Similarly, Netflix concluded a $150 million contract in May with the NFL for the exclusive worldwide rights to two games scheduled for Christmas Day.

These deals follow Netflix’s unprecedented $5 billion contract with WWE to secure the rights to ‘Monday Night Football’, marking a significant shift. This shift is set to take one of the longest-running episodic programs off the air by 2025. As it stands, cable networks can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they have at least one more year of unrivalled sports seasons, with audiences continuing to tune in.

Nevertheless, there are compelling signs that viewers are just as comfortable watching live sports on streaming platforms. The key point of contention between traditional TV and streaming services remains centered on consumers’ willingness to split their spending across an increasing number of subscriptions to view their favorite teams. As streaming platforms continue to acquire more sports rights, the landscape of sports viewership may continue to evolve.