U.S. OTT Sports Subs Revenues to Top $22 Billion in 2027

Sports OTT subscription revenues in the U.S. will rise by 73 percent over the next five years to reach about $22.6 billion in 2027, according to Parks Associates.

Per OTT & Sports: Services and Strategies for Growth, OTT sports subscription revenues hit $13.1 billion last year, with traditional pay TV losing its stronghold on the sports rights landscape. Streamers are using lucrative sports rights to maintain and grow their subs bases, such as Prime Video with NFL’s Thursday Night Football and Apple TV+ with Major League Soccer (MLS). Per Parks, there are more than 50 specific-sports OTT services in the U.S.

“Sport media rights holders want to get games in front of as many eyes as possible,” said Jennifer Kent, VP of research at Parks Associates. “The audience reach of online-only and streaming services is enormous. To compete with the digital titans, media conglomerates with conventional and online services are shifting finances and resources to launch, improve and develop streaming services targeted at sports fans.”

Kent added, “There has always been intense competition for sports-related content, but the disaggregation of content delivery with the growth of streaming services is pouring fuel on the fire.”