Tag: Sports

Gracenote: Live Sports Program Streaming Surges 52% Year-Over-Year, Led by Paramount+

Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has found that sports program offerings across the top five subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services jumped 52% year-over-year.

This sharp increase, identified in the latest Gracenote Data Hub update, underscores the importance of sports content (live games and related content) to providers’ audience engagement strategies.

Over the past year, Paramount+ has vaulted past Prime Video and Netflix to lead in streaming sports programming at the individual game and event level. Following its acquisition of UFC broadcast rights from ESPN starting in January, the service now delivers more than twice the sports content of any SVOD platform, up 219%. During the same period, the Disney+ sports catalog contracted 23%.

At the same time, streaming content growth has extended beyond subscription platforms to free ad-supported no-cost, no-commitment services. Gracenote’s analysis of 2,060 FAST channels available worldwide revealed that sports content on FAST grew 30%, led by the live-stream of Super Bowl LIX on AVOD platform Tubi on Feb. 9, 2025.

With more than 200 dedicated news channels now available, news programming on free ad-supported streaming services increased 58%. Movies and TV shows available on FAST rose 26% and 24%, respectively, according to Gracenote.

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Super Bowl LX, 2026 Winter Olympics, and the New Battleground for Live Sports

Live sports have been steadily moving to streaming, but Feb. 8 may mark a decisive shift. On that day, NBC and Peacock will broadcast both Super Bowl LX and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. For an industry that has long debated whether streaming can support the biggest live sporting events at scale, this month will serve as a real-world, high-stakes test.

Francesca Pezzoli

For Peacock, this moment represents more than a programming milestone; it is an opportunity to validate its ambitions in live sports.

The stakes are high. Live sports viewers are less forgiving than on-demand audiences; even minor issues with access, discovery or technical performance can quickly erode trust. However, the rewards are substantial if Peacock delivers a seamless experience.

Success will not be measured only by subscriber growth or viewing time. It will be defined by visibility, consistency and execution: how often Peacock appears on the home screen, how effectively it surfaces live moments, and how intuitively it guides viewers between events, highlights and replays. In a crowded streaming environment, winning sports isn’t just about having the rights; it’s about owning the digital shelf.

CTV: The New Battleground for Attention

Connected TV (CTV) is becoming increasingly important as live sports viewing shifts to this platform. Currently, 80% of U.S. CTV users stream live sports, according to the “LG Ad Solutions report: Stadium to Screen,” making the TV home screen a critical gateway to reach fans.

On Feb. 8, the competition will extend beyond Peacock versus other streaming services. It will be a visibility contest across Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, LG, and other platforms, where device-level discovery determines which audiences see first. Which apps and live events are featured on home screens, and which platforms successfully convert viewer intent into action, will ultimately determine success.

For viewers, the experience will feel simple: turn on the TV and watch. Behind the scenes, however, the CTV merchandising strategy will play a disproportionate role in determining who wins attention during one of the most competitive live sports days of the year. This is the turning point where home-screen visibility becomes as valuable as the rights themselves.

The Paris 2024 Olympics set viewership records across linear, digital and social platforms. The 2026 Winter Olympics are expected to be even more multichannel. Fans will move between live broadcasts, streaming apps, highlights, social clips and second-screen experiences. For Peacock, this means alignment across content strategy, CTV execution and device-level partnerships.

Last year’s Super Bowl on Fox and Tubi was the most-watched Super Bowl and telecast in U.S. history. Tubi provided a top-tier streaming experience for free, a key message highlighted in their most prominent placements across Samsung TV, LG TV and Google TV.

To achieve success this year, Peacock needs to secure premium advertising environments, establish dominant home-screen placements, and ensure effective promotion across CTV devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and smart TVs.

Why This Matters

February will be an important case study for sports streaming. In addition to the Super Bowl and Olympics, Peacock will air the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend. It will show how audiences behave when major live events are available on streaming platforms, how well CTV environments facilitate discovery, and whether the execution can meet expectations under such demanding live conditions.

Francesca Pezzoli is VP of marketing at Looper Insights, a company that helps major Hollywood studios, global streamers, local broadcasters, and entertainment platforms understand how content is promoted across connected TV and digital storefronts and how that visibility translates into audience engagement and viewership.

Gracenote Enhances On Sports Solution With Ancillary Content

Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, is offering new enhancements to its On Sports solution spotlighting content beyond live games. On Sports — covering 160-plus of the world’s most popular sports leagues and competitions in 50-plus countries globally — now makes sports documentaries, highlights, game analyses and other related content accessible through unified sports hubs.

In addition, game, team and athlete imagery capturing sports action and the personalities of favorite players help make user interfaces more visually rich and personalized, according to Gracenote.

Gracenote links games to related content and programming including scripted and documentary TV shows and movies focusing on sports leagues, teams or general sports topics; and shoulder content and programming complementing or extending a live sporting event, typically airing just before or after, but also including delayed recap shows.

Gracenote notes that total viewing for streaming sports documentaries reached 16.9 million minutes among U.S. viewers in 2024, up nearly 260% from 4.7 million minutes in 2021, according to the 2025 Nielsen Tops of Sports report.

The newest Gracenote On Sports enhancements help customers go beyond game availability so they can deepen fan engagement and increase stickiness, according to the company. Streamlined integration of Gracenote sports data delivered alongside video data by way of a single API makes the turnkey solution easy to implement, Gracenote reports.

“From casual viewers to passionate fans, consumers are engaging with sports content in every way possible,” Tyler Bell, SVP of product at Gracenote, said in a statement. “Platforms have big opportunities to become go-to sports hubs for these valuable users, and Gracenote is uniquely positioned to help them realize these ambitions.”

Gracenote On Sports powers universal search capabilities and unique sports hub experiences by delivering sports data, live sports schedules as well as league and team data through a single API, and provides coverage of sports leagues and competitions that include the NFL, NBA, Premier League and Formula One.

Gracenote will demo On Sports on an appointment-only basis at CES running Jan. 6-8, 2026.

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Antenna: Sports, Streaming Bundles Drove SVOD Market Through September, Led by ESPN Unlimited, Fox One

The Aug. 21 launches of standalone ESPN Unlimited and Fox One arguably stand out as the top streaming events of 2025 — further driving live sports as a facilitator of streaming video consumption as a replacement for legacy television.

Both services have resonated with consumers, combining for an estimated 4 million sign-ups through October — taking advantage of both college and professional football and basketball, according to new data from Antenna.

The discounted ESPN/Fox One bundle launched Oct. 2.

Of the 3 million ESPN sign-ups in 2025, ESPN Unlimited drove 1.7 million (55%), while another 43% (1.3 million) came through the Disney bundles, which include Disney+ and Hulu. Of the 2.2 million Fox One sign-ups, 99% were for the standalone access to all Fox programming, while 1% chose the Fox One + Fox Nation bundle. Prime Video contributed to 57% of Fox One sign-ups, according to Antenna.

The past four years have seen a steady march of sports rights move to streaming. Peacock and Paramount+ have aggressively pursued sports, including the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, and European soccer.

HBO Max incorporated the Turner sports rights, including European access to the Olympics, while Prime Video moved from experiments to major rights deals, including the debut of NASCAR and the NBA. This past spring, the NWSL and WNBA returned, while “Thursday Night Football” is in its fourth season of an 11-year deal.

The Apple TV app offers access to a wide array of live and scheduled sports events, including access to subscription-only features such as “Friday Night Baseball” (during the Major League Baseball season) and Sunday Night Soccer included with an Apple TV subscription, or Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass. About 60% of the top 10 titles streamed on Apple TV between April and September were MLB games — topping original programming, including “The Morning Show” and “Your Friends & Neighbors.”

In late 2026, subscription-based YouTube TV, with 9 million subscribers, will offer members direct access to ESPN Unlimited, negating the required toggling between apps and broadcast. The vMVPD will also reportedly offer discounted subscription tiers in an effort to combat ongoing bundling between third-party competitors.

The high-profile Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing fight on Sept. 13 generated 238,000 Netflix sign-ups, while also appealing to existing subscribers, according to Antenna. Netflix sign-ups in September were three-times to more likely to watch Canelo vs. Crawford than the new season of Jenna Ortega’s “Wednesday,” with another 30% of the top 10 titles on Netflix in September by sign-ups reached consisting of “WWE Raw” live-streamed events. Indeed, among new subscribers generated through the boxing match, 70% watched other Netflix content, including Happy Gilmore 2, while 30% also live-streamed “Thursday Night Football” games on Prime Video. Canelo vs. Crawford viewers were 1.5 times more likely to watch certain NFL games on Prime Video compared to the average Prime viewer.

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Season 1 of Docuseries ‘GOATs’ Available on Samsung TV Plus

GOATS Entertainment and AEG’s SLVR Sports & Entertainment Channel announce the digital premiere of season one of the critically acclaimed documentary series “GOATs: The Greatest of All Time” with photographer Walter Iooss is available on Samsung TV Plus.

The sports docuseries celebrates the legendary work of renowned photographer Walter Iooss and offers unprecedented access to the stories behind some of the most iconic images in sports history — interwoven with rare interviews and behind-the-scenes footage featuring Kobe Bryant, Joe Montana, Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ken Griffey Jr., Chris Evert and Joe Namath, among others.

Season one of GOATS originally premiered on ESPN, ABC and ESPN2. 

SLVR is a sports and entertainment channel available globally on Samsung TV Plus. Viewers can access the channel through Samsung smart TVs, Galaxy mobile devices, smart monitors, Family Hub refrigerators, and The Frame art-display TVs.

“We are thrilled to once again showcase the incredible, iconic works of Walter Iooss Jr. with some of the world’s greatest athletes in an intimate and captivating docuseries,” Joe DiMuro, co-founder and executive producer of GOATS Entertainment, said in a statement. “Excited to build upon our relationship with AEG and provide exceptional content for their SLVR Sports & Entertainment channel.”

“As a longtime television producer, I was thrilled about the extraordinary ratings and press we received with ‘GOATS’ season one,” Kevin Kaufman, co-founder and executive producer of GOATS Entertainment, said in a statement. “Now with AEG, we expect the drumbeat to be amplified for a new, explosive audience.”

“I am so incredibly proud to be part of this team and have an opportunity to build upon the incredible legacy of GOATS Entertainment worldwide,” Jay Sherrard, marketing executive/executive producer, said in a statement. “This is just the beginning.”

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Antenna: New ESPN Streaming Service Saw 2.1 Million Sign-Ups, Fox One 1.1 Million in First Month

The new standalone ESPN and Fox One’s streaming services generated an estimated 2.1 million and 1.1 million subscribers, respectively, through Sept. 30, according to data from Antenna.

The platforms launched on Aug. 21 offering subs full access to all related branded content, including live sports, priced at $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively. The ESPN and Fox One bundle costs $39.99 per month.

Antenna said the numbers do not include existing Disney subscribers who switched from other plans, or individuals who activated the service through a legacy multichannel video programming distributor partnership.

With the beginning of the National Football League and college football seasons, sign-ups tend to spike around weekends. Fox One saw a notable spike in sign-ups around the Super Bowl rematch between Philadelphia and Kansas City on Sept. 14.

Antenna estimates some 57% of the ESPN subscribers opted for the new flagship Unlimited service, compared to 43% for ESPN Select (formerly ESPN+). Antenna also found that 63% of sign-ups for ESPN between Aug. 21 and Sept. 30 came through a bundle. Both ESPN Unlimited and ESPN Select are available as bundles with Disney+ and Hulu, offering both ad-free and ad-supported options.

“This more complete data snapshot suggests that the early momentum seen in the first days following the services’ launches continues,” Antenna wrote in a post.

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Hub Research: Splintered Live Sports Streaming Rights Frustrating Consumers

Sports media continues to dominate the streaming landscape in attracting and retaining viewers and subscribers, but as sports rights splinter across multiple platforms, fan frustration is growing.

New data from Hub Entertainment Research reveals that 72% of survey respondents said sports are more important to them than anything else they watch on TV. The survey was conducted among 3,802 U.S. sports fans ages 13-74 in June and July.

Hub asked respondents to imagine that a streaming platform bought the rights to a sport they follow, and they had to subscribe to a new service to watch. The reports found that upwards of 87% of respondents said they were extremely likely to sign up for a streaming platform that had rights to a sport they followed.  Among respondents under the age of 35, 92% said they were at least somewhat likely to sign up, while nearly 75% were very likely to subscribe. Another 42% said that they’ve signed up for a new service specifically to watch sports (up from 38% a year ago).

At the same time, 65% of respondents said it is a hassle to use multiple services to watch games during a season. Half (53%) said they believe it’s become harder to find the sports they want to watch compared to a year ago. And 63% said having games on separate apps makes it hard to check on other games that are on at the same time.

“These findings prove once again that sports have unrivaled power to attract new viewers to a platform, and keep them engaged over time,” Jon Giegengack, founder/principal at Hub and, said in a statement. “But it’s critical for services to remember that with great power comes great responsibility: the splintering of rights is making sports content harder to find. The backlash will come bigger and faster from sports fans than those looking for scripted TV.”

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ESPN, Fox One Streaming Bundle Launches, Priced at $39.99 Monthly

ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service and Fox One, Fox Corp.’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service, have launched a bundle option priced at $39.99 per month.

Standalone access to ESPN Unlimited and Fox One costs $29.99 and $19.99 per month, respectively.

ESPN features premium content and the live events from top leagues on all of ESPN and Fox’s TV networks and digital services, including the NFL; NBA; NHL; MLB; WNBA; WWE; UFL; SEC; ACC; Big 12; College Football Playoff; 40 NCAA championships; LALIGA, Bundesliga, NWSL, and FA Cup soccer; Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open tennis; The Masters golf, PGA Championship, PGA TOUR, TGL and LPGA golf; Little League World Series baseball and softball; and Premier Lacrosse League; among others.

Fox One features the NFL; MLB; FIFA World Cup 26Ô; college football (Big Ten, Big 12, Mountain West); college basketball (Big Ten, Big East, Big 12 & Mountain West); NASCAR; INDYCAR; NYRA (including the Belmont Stakes); UFL; LIV Golf; Westminster, domestic and international soccer (Concacaf, CONMEBOL, FIFA, Liga MX, MLS, UEFA), among other programming.

After subscribing, ESPN content is streamed via ESPN platforms and Fox content is streamed via Fox One platforms. This bundle is only available with ESPN Unlimited, not ESPN Select, and there is not an option to combine this bundle with Disney+ and Hulu.

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Nielsen: Football Drives August TV Gains For Disney, Fox

Football was the common catalyst for Disney and Fox in August, as coverage of the new college football season along with the NFL preseason drove the only household TV market share increases for media companies, according to Nielsen.

Disney climbed to 9.7% of TV watch-time (up 0.3 share points vs. July), as football coverage helped drive a 4% bump for ABC affiliates, and a 25% surge for ESPN. The viewing impact from Fox affiliates contributed to a 14% monthly uptick to represent 6.7% of TV viewing (up 0.2 points).

While the effects of a new football season will not be fully evident until September, its late-month impact was a clear indicator of what’s to come. When comparing the first and last weeks of August, viewing on Fox affiliates was up 36%, ABC affiliates gained 29%, and ESPN surged 196%, which was due at least in part to a season premiere of “College GameDay.”

Disney’s market share of TV viewing started at 8.9% in the first week of the month, and concluded with 11.5% in the final week.

This football-driven surge countered the back-to-school drop in viewing among school-aged audiences, with streaming viewership being the most impacted by this group. Top-ranked YouTube gave up 0.3 share points and finished the month with a 13.1% share of TV viewing. Meanwhile, Netflix held steady in third with 8.7% (down 0.1 point) on the strength of owning the top four streaming titles of the month.

Beyond the top three, shares for NBCUniversal and Paramount remained even with July, finishing with 7.6% and 7.1%, respectively. Like Disney and Fox, both NBCU and Paramount were buoyed by gains across their broadcast affiliates as the two also benefited from the return of football.

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Roku Brings Back YouTube TV for Sports, Entertainment Access Coming

Roku Sept. 5 announced that all branded streaming devices in the United States will now have subscription (not free) access to virtual multichannel video program distributor YouTube TV for live sports. The new integration aims to make it easier to tune into NFL games, including YouTube TV’s exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket.

The Google-owned platform will soon be accessible in content discovery destinations across the Roku platform, offering access to a variety of live entertainment programming.

The offering comes four years after Roku dropped YouTube TV when it couldn’t come to distribution terms with Google.

“Our priority continues to be making game time effortless for our users,” Joe Franzetta, head of sports for Roku Media, said in a statement. “Partnering with YouTube TV is a major step in delivering a comprehensive fan-centered experience that simplifies sports discovery and puts live action front and center for millions of fans.”

With this launch, Roku Sports continues to add third-party content partners, including recently added DAZN Live Sports, Fox One, Frndly TV, Spectrum TV and Xfinity Stream.

Roku also carries branded platforms, including FAST channels, from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NWSL, NHL, PGA Tour, FIFA+, Women’s Sports Network and T2 Tennis and others.

The platform has exclusive ad-supported streaming rights to select MLB games, the X Games and NBA G League.

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