Platforms and streamers with live sports are working to adapt as the types and ways younger fans engage with sports content shifts. But with live events splintered across platforms and distributors the familiar frustration of where to find a game remains for many.
Still, there are some potential avenues to help alleviate the sports content discovery struggle, with most respondents of Hub Entertainment Researchโs โEvolution of Sports: Whatโs the Score?โ study signaling favor for sports content aggregation tools and all-in or platform-exclusive rights.
And based on a separate global sports study from Altman Solon, some platforms and rights holders might do well to expand their offerings around sports content into new formats, including short-form, to attract younger cohorts that have different ways they like to consume.ย
Whereโs my game struggle continuesย
A whopping 87% of sports fans surveyed by Hub say that itโs at least somewhat frustrating to figure out where to watch the sports they follow today, with nearly a quarter feeling โvery frustrated.โ
The challenge of where to find a specific team or game for a given sport on a given day isnโt new or a secret to streaming platforms, some of which have taken steps to rollout features that aim to help ease the issue.
Hubโs survey zeroed on two of these: ESPNโs โWhere to Watchโ feature and the Rokuโs โSports Zoneโ landing page to see what fans thought in terms of how they can improve the viewing experience โ where most felt positively.
Results show that 70% said ESPNโs feature, which tells viewers where to find a game even those not on ESPN, would make their sports viewing experience easier. And 60% felt the same about Rokuโs Sports Zone, which is a dedicated hub in the Roku interface that aggregates information on specific sports in a central location to simplify finding sports content across…