Sports as a service: Will COVID-19 change how we watch sports?

Dec 10, 2020

A person using a VPN on a mobile phone in front of a football game on a large TV screen.

A crowded sporting calendar and a multitude of networks providing content suggests TV packages may no longer be delivering value to viewers. Image: Unsplash

Stefan Brambilla Hall

Project Lead, Media, Entertainment and Sport, World Economic Forum Geneva

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Table from Sportsmediawatch.com showing that TV viewing figures across virtually all sports have dropped during the pandemic.

Once live sports matches resumed, TV viewing figures showed a decrease in demand across almost every major sport. Image: Numbers from Nielsen, NBA Finals avg. from LA Times 10.13/sportsmediawatch.com

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Growth in media rights show that the major leagues in the US have maximized what they have - US rights increased almost 150% between 2006 and 2018. Image: Statista

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