The Secret Sauce for Monetizing Live Sports Streaming Content

Digital Transformation is underway globally and it is increasing the role of digital platforms in broadcasting and engaging with fans of sports that previously had little to no coverage.

Neilsen reports that the live sports streaming market is expected to grow from $18.1 billion in 2020 to more than $87.3 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.4%. More and more people are moving from TV screens to handheld ones. In 2023 some thirty percent of sports fans streamed live sports on their smartphone or tablet, according to thinkwithgoogle.com.

The market sees strong growth for streaming as a medium for consuming sports. As a result, streaming services are investing heavily in acquiring sports rights, such as Amazon paying $1 billion per season to stream NFL “Thursday Night Football”, Apple TV+ streaming “Friday Night Baseball” and Major League Soccer. (Statista) and Netflix with the WWE deal.

When it comes to the new world of sports streaming of leagues and sports that previously had little or no coverage, there are few statistics to show future size and growth rates. Wintergreen research projects that the US Youth Video Sports Streaming Market will reach $5B in 2024. This is all new territory. There is no question, however, that the potential is huge.

New emerging markets

Three emerging markets that will benefit greatly from automation include:

• • Women’s Sports
    Women’s sports have been experiencing a significant rise in viewership. According to Nielsen in 2023, 41% of the global audience showed interest in women’s sports, indicating a broadening appeal and engagement. This increase is attracting more sponsors and advertisers, leading to enhanced monetization opportunities. The value of media rights for women’s sports is on the rise as well and female athletes and teams have strong engagement rates on social media, offering potential for monetization through digital platforms.

 

• • Youth Sports
    The youth sports market is substantial, with spending on sports-related activities, training, and equipment. There’s also growing potential in digital platforms offering streaming, performance tracking, and online coaching for youth sports. Local and national businesses often sponsor youth sports teams and events, providing a steady revenue stream. Organizing and hosting tournaments can also turn into a significant source of revenue. NBC Sports Next has recently launched a new platform SportsEngine Play dedicated to livestreaming US youth sports.

 

• Niche Sports
  Niche sports such as European Handball, Beach Volleyball, Flag Football and Lacrosse often have a highly dedicated and engaged fan base. Live coverage of games would provide access to a much wider audience that would boost the fan base and open many new opportunities for growth and generating income.

The Need for a Different Business Model

Understandably, Elite Leagues and professional sports attract a lot of advertising revenue due to the high interest in their games and their large number of viewers, no matter what platform they are viewed on. This is not always the case with secondary leagues, women’s leagues, youth leagues, and niche sports.

While these emerging, more specialized leagues may not have the same mass appeal, they do have a dedicated and passionate fanbase. By providing a cost-effective way to stream these games, Pixellot is bringing a revolution to sports coverage.

This democratization of sports is also opening up a whole new world of monetization opportunities. The key though is finding the magic mix to succeed.

AI and automation: The Game Changer

AI Automated capture and production is revolutionizing the way we are consuming sports content. Pixellot has not only created a solution to bring live sports to the masses in a cost-effective manner, but it has also built an entire ecosystem that caters to teams, coaches, players, and entire leagues and federations.

Pixellot’s AI-Automated™ solution films, produces, broadcasts, and even gives you full control of your own branded media channel. Beyond that, it provides data and analytics for team and player development, as well as everything you need to grow and engage your audience.

Multiple Revenue Streams

The Pixellot system becomes not only a basis for digital transformation in the sporting realm, but also a solid investment in an end-to-end platform that pays for itself through various monetization options.

Most of the industry is still not aware of the fact that when it comes to sports streaming of emerging sports, the secret to commercial success lies not in attracting huge audiences which is very difficult. The secret sauce is devising and implementing multiple, incremental sources of income while minimizing production costs.

In the next post we will go deeper into each type of monetization model and will give some examples from Pixellot clients. Stay tuned!