您最喜爱的本地运动队即将在您附近的电视台亮相。
随着电视领域的不断发展，观看本地体育节目的方式也在发生变化，而对于一些球迷来说，免费是最好的选择。这怎么可能呢？随着观众不断远离传统的有线电视套餐，一些球队正在与当地电视台合作，为球迷提供免费的空中（OTA）观看当地比赛的机会。
对于体育迷来说，成本和观看体育赛事的机会无疑是一股清新的空气，而收视率则是激励体育团队的因素--近年来，由于地区体育网络（RSN）的内容被捆绑在传统的有线电视和卫星电视套餐中，收视率一直在下降。
在过去的一年里，一些职业运动队达成了协议，让其转播区域内的所有球迷都能通过数字 OTA 天线免费观看当地的比赛：
- 菲尼克斯水星（WNBA）
- 菲尼克斯太阳队
- 犹他爵士队
- 拉斯维加斯黄金骑士队（NHL）
- 亚利桑那丛林狼队（NHL）
并非只有这些球队意识到传统广播节目的影响力。例如，许多 MLB 球队通过当地电视台和有线电视独家转播部分比赛。例如，纽约大都会队在 2023 赛季中的 24 场比赛由 WPIX 独家转播，其余 124 场比赛则由当地的 RSN SNY 转播。而在不远处的费城费城人队则通过当地电视台转播了他们 2023 赛季的 12 场比赛。
大都会队选择通过当地电视台转播部分比赛，使其在整个 2023 赛季的总覆盖率增加了 17%。我们在费城也看到了类似的趋势，费城人队在常规赛期间通过市场的地方电视台转播了部分比赛，使其总覆盖率增加了 13%。2023 年大都会队和费城人队的比赛共有约 95 万观众仅通过传统广播节目观看。
TV rights deals that provide non-cable audiences with access to local games aligns with how fans watch TV. As of September, only 46% of U.S. homes1 access programming through a traditional cable or satellite service. That’s down 23.6% since September of 2021.
The shift to OTA broadcasting by the Mercury, Suns, Jazz and Golden Knights marks a return to how local games were televised before RSNs became commonly distributed through the expanded basic tiers of cable programming in the 1990s. The new deals, however, do more than just take a page out of the history books. Each comes with a companion direct-to-consumer streaming option as well, which also aligns with the growing number of homes that get their programming from broadband internet service, as well as viewers’ time streaming. In both July 和 August of this year, streaming accounted for more than 38% of total TV usage.
While these deals have yet to affect the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons, the Suns-Mercury-Gray Television deal went into effect just in time for the Mercury’s 2023 season, which ended Sept. 10. With games available locally through OTA access, the Mercury’s average household audience was nearly 6x larger than during the team’s 2022 season (when local games were broadcast via RSN). It’s also noteworthy that the percentage of OTA homes in Phoenix is more than 7 percentage points higher than the national average.
As the Phoenix Suns and Las Vegas Golden Knights begin their 2023-24 seasons, we can see the potential reach gains associated with transitioning to broadcast telecasts. Through their RSN broadcasts, the Suns reached an average of 2.24% of the market’s TV viewers per game last season, while the Golden Knights reached an average of 2.16%. And to ease the viewing transition for fans, the Suns offered free antennas for local viewing in the lead up to the season. The offer was so popular that the team had to order more.
在不断变化的电视环境中，观众的选择比以往任何时候都多，而新平台和新频道的出现则增加了了解节目内容、在哪里找到节目以及是否需要付费的复杂性。从地方体育的角度来看，一些球队转向 OTA 转播突出了他们的重点，即确保尽可能多的球迷能看到比赛，而且价格合理。
资料来源
1Nielsen National TV panel
