39% of consumers are primarily watching sports via ad-supported CTV platforms

3 Min Read

Last year saw many industries upended by the pandemic –– and none more so than linear TV advertising. Due to the economic upheaval, many consumers ended up dropping their expensive cable subscriptions. And those that didn’t cited sports, news, and other live programming as the major reasons they didn’t cut-the-cord as well. But with live sports returning full swing this year, it’s looking like many sports enthusiasts used the time off to research new ways to watch their favorite teams. Almost 39% of consumers are now primarily watching sports via ad-supported Connected TV advertising platforms or social media, which matches the 39% who continue to watch on cable. 

This news comes as many streaming services look to add sports to their content line up. Adweek reports that the NFL has made deals with broadcasters like NBC, ESPN, and CBS to offer enhanced streaming rights to their Connected TV platforms. Paramount+ and NBCUniversal meanwhile report that they’re seeing subscriptions spike after airing live coverage of soccer matches. These networks have cited the built-in audiences that come with these packages for their interest in adding sports to their streaming services. As sports streaming continues to become more flexible and viewer-friendly on Connected TV, it’s looking like this channel will pull ahead in the race to claim more viewership.

Connected TV in the News

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Traditional TV upfront market of buying advertising time on live, linear TV networks is on the line again. And here’s a bottom-line question: How much money will actually go to premium streaming this year? $500 million? $1 billion?

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Tremor Video and Unruly, in partnership with MTM Global, today announced the findings from a study focusing on how CTV is used by advertisers and key areas for development.

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