Live Sports Lures Cord-Cutters Back to Pay TV, Finds Study
What can make a cord-cutter reconnect? Access to live sports broadcasts. According to a study commissioned by the sports network One World Sports and created by Frank N. Magid Associates, 39 percent of U.S. consumers who stopped their pay TV service within the last two years but are interested in restarting say that sports channels are one reason to do so. The leading reason to return is access to current TV shows.
The study found that over a third of sports fans have discovered the benefits of streaming: 37 percent watch online sports streams often, while 57 percent stream sports at some time. These fans prefer watching on larger screens, as 37 percent watch on computers, 26 percent with a set-top box or connected TV, 25 percent to tablets, and 25 percent to smartphones.
For One World Sports, the results speak to the value of live sports on any type of network.
“Sports remains the most DVR-proof form of video content,” said Alexander “Sandy” Brown, president and CEO of One World Sports. "Digital video providers, whether they’re targeting their services for OTT delivery or mobile devices, are actively seeking sports content to feed their new services and attract consumers.”
The survey questioned 2,883 U.S. adults with pay TV subscriptions and 317 who have broadband but no pay TV. The full study isn't available online.
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