Worldpanel's Dominic Sunnebo Discusses New Data on Live Sports Streaming and New Subscriber Growth
Is live sports streaming driving new subscription growth on major platforms like Netflix, Prime, and Disney+? In this exclusive interview with Streaming Learning Center's Jan Ozer, Worldpanel by Numerator's Dominic Sunnebo discusses new data from Q2 2025 exploring the impact of premium live sports and localized content on new customer acquisition on subscription and hybrid ad-tier platforms across Europe and the data's broader implications for sports as a driving force in revenue growth throughout the global paid CTV ecosystem. The report also includes key data points on the growth of women's sports, particularly Euro 2025 women's football.
This conversation with Dominic Sunnebo has been edited for length and clarity.
Jan Ozer: In this interview we’re going to discuss the Entertainment on Demand Q2 2025 report and the data highlights on sports, ad-supported tiers, and localized streaming growth. Tell us about the report.
Dominic Sunnebo: This is a report about Q2 2025, looking across the streaming sector in multiple different markets. It’s been a really interesting quarter. Sports played a really key part in acquisition across a number of different markets. Almost one in four new consumers in the streaming sector is being driven by sports content. On the flip side, it was the lowest number of new subscribers since around 2023. We’re really getting to peak penetration in mature markets. Those who want to have a streaming service already have one, so growth is becoming harder to come by.
Jan: How do you gather data for a report like this?
Dominic: We have big longitudinal consumer panels across all the markets we operate in. In the US we’re speaking with 20,000 households every month. We gather details about what services they subscribe to, their experience, and if they’re signing up to a new service—what was the content? Was it a film, a series, a specific sporting event? That gives us a granular insight into behavior, how people are switching from one service to another, turning services on and off.
Jan: You talked about 24% subscriber growth relating to sports, but you also talked about saturation. Is sports driving net new subs, or just switching?
Dominic: It is increasingly driving net new subs. Most people who want streaming already have it, and most already have Netflix. With sports, there’s still a higher ceiling for growth. Rights are being bought up by major streaming companies, and people are starting to move across. The interesting thing about sports is that loyalty is to the teams and the sport, not the service. If football moves from one service to another, fans will follow. That’s why it’s so expensive to buy sports rights—you have a guaranteed audience.
Jan: But it’s a rented audience. Once you stop showing that team, the next broadcaster will grab them.
Dominic: Couldn’t agree more. A “rented audience” is a very good way to put it.
Jan: We’re seeing the rise of women’s sports. What did you see in the report?
Dominic: Women’s sports is having its momentum. Success breeds success. In the UK, women’s euros were filling 30-40,000 seat stadiums, something we’ve never seen before. The quality within women’s football is increasing rapidly. People watching men’s football are also watching women’s football. It’s additive.
Jan: I’m shocked that anybody watches WWE, but Netflix picked it up. Is that good for the brand or bad?
Dominic: Netflix is such a powerful brand, it can absorb another really powerful brand. Wrestling is incredibly well known worldwide. Some people are joining Netflix just for wrestling. It’s not a huge driver of standalone acquisition, but it drives engagement. It gives people more content between tentpole releases.
Jan: When you say engagement, are you just describing people watching?
Dominic: It goes beyond that. Netflix put the entire back catalog on the service. People dip into wrestling when they’re not watching the big new releases. It keeps engagement going between tentpole titles.
Jan: Some sports—WWE, UFC, boxing—have lived on pay-per-view. Is pay-per-view going away?
Dominic: It’s going to be hard to move away from that model, particularly for boxing. The big fights are spaced out, build anticipation, and are incredibly profitable. There’s not enough between events to keep fans engaged on a monthly subscription. Pay-per-view continues to work well.
Jan: Who are the big pay-per-view brands?
Dominic: DAZN plays a huge role, Apple TV to some extent. DAZN is investing heavily worldwide. But compared to Netflix or Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s much smaller. Sports rights are expensive, and companies like DAZN are going to get squeezed as Amazon and others buy the big events.
Jan: What about smaller niche brands like BritBox or Shudder—can sports help them?
Dominic: It’s going to be a big challenge. Their relative success comes from being specialized. If they go wider, they can’t compete with the big players. Sports rights require huge long-term investments, and that’s not realistic for smaller companies.
Jan: Can you give an example of sports driving subs, and an example where it didn’t?
Dominic: Amazon Prime Video bought Premiership football rights in the UK and saw massive growth. At first, people joined just for football, but over time Amazon convinced them to engage with other films and series, then move into transactions and retail. For Amazon, sport helped bring people in, and then they monetized them in many ways.
Jan: Let’s switch to ad-supported tiers. Ad-tier adoption is up 14%. Is that driven by demand, or mostly forced migration like Prime?
Dominic: It’s mostly genuine growth. Prime forced subscribers onto ads unless they opted out. Their Net Promoter Score dropped overnight, but within two months satisfaction recovered. Since then, growth is organic. When people are given the choice, they gravitate to the cheaper option, even if it’s only a couple of dollars cheaper.
Jan: The report mentions Discovery+ leading in ad experience. What did they do right?
Dominic: Particularly in the US, they’re strong on relevance. The ads people see match their interests and the shows they watch. They’ve made a strong connection between programming and advertising.
Jan: How does ad load relate to consumer satisfaction and churn?
Dominic: It plays a big role. If consumers are unhappy with ad load, advocacy drops and churn goes up. Netflix, Prime, Disney all launched with very low ad loads. They’ve been slowly ramping up. Satisfaction is starting to tip back down again. A churned customer is very expensive to win back.
Jan: Are ad-supported services reducing churn or ARPU?
Dominic: It’s hard to know. They pay less per month, but revenue from ads increases. Churn levels between ad-supported and premium are similar. It’s more of a growth and revenue strategy than an anti-churn strategy.
Jan: The report highlights the rise of local services like WOW. Where do they fit with Netflix?
Dominic: It’s about local content and local languages. Local shows tend to do better than Hollywood shows in their own markets. That’s the niche those services fulfill. But Apple, for example, is now investing in German originals, and that could challenge local players.
Jan: Around the time of the report, Netflix rolled out a new UI. What are your observations?
Dominic: Netflix historically had the highest UI satisfaction. When they made a big change, feedback was negative for about a month—people thought it was slower, harder to find shows. But two months later, satisfaction rose back to where it was. It’s about familiarity. The biggest change is Netflix pushing its suggestions to take up around 50% of the screen.
Jan: How much of Netflix’s success is about brand versus content and usability?
Dominic: The Netflix brand is incredibly strong across all age groups. They can take unloved shows and make them hits through marketing and social hype. They’re also trusted. Over 60% of people go to Netflix first when they don’t know what to watch. That’s about brand strength.
Jan: Looking ahead, what’s the single most underreported risk in sports?
Dominic: There’s talk of mergers—Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, even Netflix bidding for Warner. We don’t know where sports rights will end up. Another risk is underinvesting in women’s sports. Some players are waiting too long, and those rights will be bought up for the next three or four years.
Jan: When can we look forward to your next report?
Dominic: Mid-October.
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