Live Sports: A Waning Appeal?
Dude Perfect to the rescue!
It's almost insolent how thriving the sports media industry is with a 2.4% YoY growth of sports media rights value at 56B$ according to SportBusiness Global Media Report 2023.
2024 saw the NBA topping the 76B$ deal value (+165%) for their 2025-2036 rights cycle.
Every platform fighting for our daily attention wants a piece of the sports business. Not every one of them can afford it though. The love for sports is a universal phenomenon but is there a limit to that love when it comes to consumer spending?
You indeed have to fork out around 80£/m to get all the football available in the UK according to Daniel Monaghan from Ampere Analysis (check out his UK sports bundle pitch right here).
Sports Subscriptions: Glass Ceiling Coming Up?
→ Over two thirds of global consumers (67%) follow sports on a regular basis (i.e. in the last 30 days) via various media platforms according to YouGov’s Global Sports Media Landscape report.
→ Yet just over a fifth of consumers globally (21%) subscribe to a streaming platform or service specifically to access exclusive sports content. The number goes up to 29% amongst the Engaged Sports Fans segment. According to Kantar, 1 in 5 new streaming subscribers are motivated to sign-up to see the sports they love.
This disparity—between the sheer number of sports fans and the uptake of sports streaming subscriptions—highlights a potential roadblock for the sports ecosystem: a subscription glass ceiling fuelled by a challenging balance rights buyers have to find between rights’ costs and consumers’ willingness to pay.
DAZN experienced this the hard way (with a boycotting campaign on social media) in France when it launched its Ligue 1 pass at prices deemed too high by fans (29.99€ with a 12-month commitment; 39.99€ without). Ensued several price promotions at 19.99€ / month, this week with Black Friday at 14.99€, to feed the sub acquisition engine. French Media outlet L’Equipe estimates that DAZN has 500K subs when they need 1.5M to be profitable.
Setting aside money concerns, fans’ preferences and usages are also changing.
Live Events: A Waning Appeal?
Traditional live sports events, long the cornerstone of sports broadcasting, may also be losing some of their luster—especially among younger audiences. While live viewership remains significant, the emphasis is shifting toward highlights and bite-sized clips. Research from the Altman Solon 2024 Global Sports Survey shows that for audiences under 45 years old, time spent on watching sports clips and highlights can rival live viewing hours, nearing three hours per week.
Why this interest beyond live?
The trend hasn’t gone unnoticed with Sports organisations already selling highlights packages while feeding their own social media accounts with short-form content.
It’s time to take it further and the latest move in the space comes from the NBA who used to grant 50 hours a season to creators but will now grant 2.5K hours per season with a 25K hours of back catalogue access.
Speaking of creators…
Who else is best positioned to grab that opportunity?
We’ve witnessed the rise of content creators who combine sports passion with entertainment. Sports-focused creators like:
→ YouTuber Celine Dept have reshaped how fans engage with their favourite sports. With over 39.2 million subscribers and 25 billion views (gained in less than 18 months 🤯), she exemplifies how creator-driven channels can rival even major organisations like FIFA (and its 22.2 million subscribers and 7 billion views on YouTube) in reach and impact.
→ YouTuber Jesser has 22.2M subscribers and garnered 5,79B views (with 1.4K videos). For comparison, the NBA has 22.4M subs and 14,6B views (with 40K videos).
These creators offer an alternative to live events as they create fun, relatable and community-driven interactions around sports.
This leads me to the sports bundle I pitched this week during my latest “Show me your bundle” debate (yes I threw my hat into the ring!).
Introducing: The Dude Perfect Sports Bundle
It’s no coincidence that the newly appointed CEO for Dude Perfect is Andrew Yaffe, a former NBA executive. These guys LOVE sports.
Dude Perfect by the numbers:
→ 60.6M YouTube subscribers
→ 1.45M paid subscribers to Dude Perfect+
→ 17.9B views on YouTube alone
→ A big check of 100M$ from Private Equity firm Highmount Capital.
A "Dude Perfect Sports Bundle" would offer a mix of sports verticals, including basketball, golf, and outdoor sports etc., paired with innovative formats (like they do today chat shows, challenges), bespoke live events (they’re going on a “world” tour in the US and the UK), watch parties, games, behind-the-scenes footage, and community-driven interactions.
Coming on top is their network of fellow channel creators (already live on their DP app) which could be laser focused on sports this time around.
Priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, it’s a steal !
In a world where highlights start to become as coveted as live matches, traditional sports broadcasters should watch out for creators. They’re already miles ahead of them.
That’s it for today but before you go:
My bundle lost but one of theirs didn’t.
Discover the bundles pitched by Peter Scott (Play Anywhere), Carlo De Marchis (A guy with a scarf), Sébastien Audoux (Sports Media Expert), and Daniel Monaghan (Ampere Analysis).
Watch below ↓
Grab the deck here.
Enjoy your weekend and see you next week for another edition of Streaming Made Easy!
