SVODs Are Increasingly The Home Of Live Sports

Once secondary to national linear TV, streaming sports have become the No. 1 home for live sports – at least according to new research from Hub.

In its latest study, "What's The Score?" Hub finds that 69% of U.S. sports fans use SVOD services to watch live games.

• That figure, compiled in January, was higher than results for both broadcast networks (66%) and cable networks (63%), and well outpaced FASTs (10%).
• Results also represented a major year-over-year shift in how consumers are watching sports: SVODs jumped seven points year-over-year, while broadcast dipped six points and cable dropped 10 points in the timeframe.
• Hub also notes that streaming is increasingly "home base" – the first place consumers go to watch games – too. SVODs rose from 23% to 30% year-over-year, and now barely trail cable (31%) as the first stop for fans.