For years, cable TV has bled viewers and subscribers to streaming giants like Netflix, Apple and Amazon. Now, those same companies are vying to stream live sports, one of the last lines of defence when it comes to audiences paying big bucks for traditional cable packages.
AppleTV+ has a 10 year, multibillion-dollar deal to stream MLS soccer matches and also streams some MLB games. Netflix has paid to secure the rights to WWE wrestling.
But Amazon was among the first streamers to aggressively bid on broadcast rights for a range of sports, and just this week, it added Monday night NHL games to its offerings.
“We’re committed to driving more innovation for fans as we bring the NHL into more Canadian homes and across more devices on Monday nights than ever before,” said Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in a news release.
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But Amazon was among the first streamers to aggressively bid on broadcast rights for a range of sports, and just this week, it added Monday night NHL games to its offerings.
“We’re committed to driving more innovation for fans as we bring the NHL into more Canadian homes and across more devices on Monday nights than ever before,” said Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in a news release.
“[Sports] used to be the one of the only things keeping people tied to cable,” said David Hardisty, an associate professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.
He says the streaming industry is headed for a consolidation of sorts, where viewers can group a handful of subscriptions on a package deal that will come to resemble the traditional cable bundle that drove so many away in the first place.
“The great re-bundling already underway is making it increasingly difficult and expensive for sports viewers to watch their favourite teams,” Payson-Denney told CBC News.
And that means fans who don’t want to miss a game will likely have to navigate several different streaming services plus continue to pay for cable packages that still have key sports rights.
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