Streaming services are investing heavily in live sports, but the number of competitors in the space is frustrating consumers, according to a new study.
A study published by consulting firm Deloitte of over 3,000 U.S. sports fans found that nearly half of sports fans say they miss games because they do not have the right streaming service, while another 44% say they feel they subscribe to too many services to watch sports.
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The study also said that 59% of fans are actually willing to pay extra for a streaming service that consolidates all the sports they want to consume into one place — including 70% of Gen Z and 80% of millennials.
When understanding the broadcasting landscape in the U.S., it's easy to understand why Americans have grown frustrated with the surplus of options.
For instance, the NFL — which is by far the most watched sports league in the country — has games broadcasted on networks like Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN. Those games are accessible through a traditional cable bundle, or through streaming providers with those channels like YouTubeTV or Sling.
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However, since last season, Amazon Prime broadcasts majority of the "Thursday Night Football" games on their service, which means that NFL fans must also obtain an Amazon Prime subscription to watch at least one of the week's games.
And this is set to expand even further as Amazon acquires more games — including one playoff game — while NBC has also added a game this season that will air exclusively on Peacock.
ESPN is also likely going to add another layer to the direct-to-consumer model as their top executives have already admitted that the company will be moving to that model in the future.
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