Sports, unlike all other genres, have the power to attract large, consistent TV viewership—and on set schedules. You’d have to have been living under a rock this past year to have not been exposed to the whirlwind NFL season, which culminated in record viewership for Super Bowl LVII. Regardless of the appeal, however, the immense competition for sports rights amid an increasingly fragmented media landscape makes it challenging—and frustrating—for fans to find the games they’re looking for.
虽然不是每家出版商都有能力竞购体育版权，但内容目的地的范围远比四年前广阔--体育版权正稳步流向流媒体服务，包括精选的、备受瞩目的 NFL 季后赛。
And at the same time, some publishers that once expressed little interest in live sports have changed position and are now staking claim to what remains the most watched content on TV. Netflix, for example, has hosted two live sports events since November, ending an extensive period of previously abstaining from entering the space.
Not every event, however, has the notoriety of the Super Bowl, Thursday Night Football and Netflix’s recent Netflix Slam tournament—an important consideration as the new MLB season kicks off, which features 30 teams that each play 162 games. Die-hard fans of the New York Yankees, for example, will need access to three traditional TV networks (YES Network, ESPN, FOX) and three streaming services (Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, MLB TV) if they want to catch all of the season’s on-screen action. On the west coast, fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers have even more to navigate, as their 2024 season will be televised across ABC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, FOX Sports 1, SportsNet LA and Apple TV+.
上赛季，电视观众观看了近 3300 亿分钟的 MLB 比赛。
And outside of major markets like New York, Boston and Philadelphia that can sustain regional sports networks (RSNs) because they have major teams across the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, teams and leagues in smaller markets have started striking over-the-air broadcast rights deals with local TV stations while simultaneously offering games direct-to-consumers via streaming apps.
在这个极其分散的市场中，体育直播的底线是拥有大量的观众，但前提是观众能找到比赛。例如，最近的一次网络搜索显示，亚利桑那丛林狼队和华盛顿首都队之间最近的一场 NHL 比赛已在 ESPN+ 上播出，但结果证明是错误的--这让那些希望观看这场比赛的本地市场以外的观众感到沮丧。
这不是一个独特的例子，也不会是最后一个。服务的激增以及通过高知名度内容实现货币化的驱动力表明，未来将变得更加分散。
When Nielsen launched The Gauge, for example, streaming accounted for 26% of our total time with TV, and only five services had enough viewership to warrant being independently reported. Two of the services also didn’t include advertising. In January 2024, by contrast, streaming accounted for 36% of TV usage and 11 services are independently reported (and all either include ads or have ad-supported subscription tiers). And what’s more, four have exclusive rights to select sporting events, as do ESPN+ and Apple TV+.
美国五大体育联盟的单赛季比赛场次多达数千场。以 MLB 为例，单赛季就有近 2,500 场比赛。过去，观众可以在每周的《电视指南》中找到完整的比赛列表，但如今，即使是互联网也无法及时提供体育赛事直播的节目信息。另一方面，出版商通常只专注于为其主办的比赛提供信息。
在这方面，消费电子产品制造商（OEM）、MVPD 和数字服务提供商可以发挥主导作用，并最终赢得观众和版权持有者的青睐。体育直播仍然是吸引观众的最大驱动力，这些机构对体育直播的力量有了清晰的认识，就可以在整个超媒体平台上提供体育直播和相关内容的信息，为观众提供全面、实时的信息，打造流媒体第一的媒体格局。
A version of this article originally appeared on sportsbusinessjournal.com.
资料来源
1Services are independently reported once usage represents at least 1% of TV usage.
