We have all heard by now how the pandemic has accelerated the transformation of many industries, and unsurprisingly the sports over-the-top (OTT) and streaming world is no exception.
Digital transformation is an unrelenting process. Itโs one of the reasons we launched the StreamTime Podcast last month and even the OTT Summit four years ago โ to start working through whatโs next for our industry after a period in which weโve seen, learnt and experienced so much.
Ahead of this yearโs edition of the summit, here are 15 things (I think) weโve learnt about the future of sports broadcasting and consumption:
1. It turns out the โbig boysโ werenโt hiding in a ditch somewhere waiting for all these new streaming players to flood the market and steal market share (sorry, DAZN). In the past 18 months alone, near on every major US broadcaster has launched an OTT platform, or acquired one. Every day looks more like business as usual, just on a slightly different medium.
2. To everyoneโs shock, the Netflix business model isnโt the one of the future. There are next to no examples Iโm aware of in our industry that have โmade this workโ. It looks like the roadmap to success is simple yet much more complicated: a) you must have a diversified business model built around driving overall ARPU, b) a hybrid subscription and advertising model, and c) incorporate it into a much wider digital strategy. Itโs not the silver bullet that was hoped, at least not yet.
3. Going DTC (or the…