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Venu Sports has been shelved for now, but it鈥檚 potential launch could pose a significant threat to linear TV鈥檚 remaining crown jewel: live sports.

Without the major live sports event, Peacock lacks a 鈥渒iller app鈥� to attract new viewers. The next few months will reveal if Peacock鈥檚 promotion of original content during the Olympics will keep churn low.

The platform鈥檚 growth may be thanks to an increase in viewership of sports content, which reached 35 billion hours in Q2 2024, growing 45% YoY, YouTube鈥檚 CEO, Neal Mohan, told the Financial Times. Use this chart: Advertisers can use this chart to plan connected TV (CTV) budgets per streamer and emphasize YouTube鈥檚 dominance. Related 蘑菇AV reports:.

Streaming services invested heavily in entertainment and sports programming in 2022. The number of scripted shows rose significantly, and OTT services worldwide spent $5.2 billion on sports alone鈥攚ay over the $2.9 billion spent in 2021, according to Ampere Analysis.

Roku Sports Channel will be accessible on Roku devices, Fire TVs, and Samsung and Google TVs. Why it matters: Cost-conscious consumers are thirsty for niche content and more affordable options, especially as major streamers like Disney raise prices for their subscription-based services.

奥辞尘别苍鈥檚 sports are gaining viewership, and Ally didn鈥檛 miss a beat in snatching up primetime ads for major women鈥檚 sporting events. The bank pledged to reach equal spending on men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 sports within five years, but is already nearing its target. Its marketing team also decided to try something new鈥攖he bank partnered with Roku to produce an original series showcasing women entrepreneurs.

The company joined other streaming services like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video in dishing out billions for sports rights when interest rates were much lower. Late to the frenzy: The changing financial realities of sports rights deals are made clear by FIFA鈥檚 Club World Cup struggles.

What it means: Live sports will continue to play an important role in the battle for CTV ad dollars. Sports rights will be important for streamers, as will the need to innovate on what sports viewing means, either through multiview options akin to NFL RedZone or through alternative broadcasts like Paramount鈥檚 Nickelodeon NFL games. This was originally featured in the 蘑菇AV Daily newsletter.

Panel measurement still reigns supreme on linear TV, where major events like sports broadcasts represent the largest audiences and most sought-after ad space. Who stands to gain? If Paramount cuts ties with Nielsen, it is likely to rely on VideoAmp, per Variety reporting.

Before streaming became the norm, ESPN was the definitive brand for watching sports on television. But now, major sports leagues have been splintered across a variety of streaming services: Amazon hosts Thursday Night Football, YouTube has acquired Sunday Ticket rights, and that鈥檚 just the NFL. Other leagues like Major League Baseball are also fractured across platforms.

ESPN+, meanwhile, is proof of the enduring value of live sports, even if many of its offerings are niche. ESPN+ viewership also benefits from its bundle with Disney+ and Hulu. The virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) are small, but YouTube TV is set for major growth thanks to the NFL.

US sports betting is on the rise, with total sports betting handle projected to increase by 35.0% to $184.45 billion this year, according to our March 2023 forecast. Sports betting site FanDuel had a Super Bowl ad for the (sports) books last year, featuring a live field goal kick from former NFL player Rob Gronkowski. FanDuel will be back in 2024鈥檚 game, featuring Gronkowski making another attempt.

I'm kind of talking about sports and investment, but it's a story, really. The U.S. is incredibly good at many sports because there's a lot of investment in a lot of sports in the U.S., but I want to tell you the story of Eric Moussambani. (02:43):. Does that ring a bell with anybody? Anyone heard of him? He is from Equatorial Guinea. He turned up to Olympic trials in 2000 Sydney Olympics.

I mean this testament to women's sports worldwide, women's professional sports. I found some numbers on worldwide women's professional sports revenues and they're growing really fast. So this chart, you can see this is data from Deloitte that shows that the dollars are nearly doubling from basically $700 million to 1.3 billion in the past two years.

Discovery's bid to match Amazon鈥檚 offer, which may lead to legal challenges and create further problems for the beleaguered media giant; it also hurts Venu Sports, the upcoming sports property from WBD, Disney, and Fox. The future of 鈥淚nside the NBA,鈥� a popular show on Turner, is also uncertain, although there is optimism about its potential move to Amazon.

Peacock and Paramount+ will use live sports programming to increase ad revenues. Live sports will likely have a bigger impact on Peacock than they will for Paramount+. This is because Peacock鈥檚 sports programming features a mix of linear TV retransmissions and streaming exclusives, whereas Paramount鈥檚 sports programming is available on CBS. Read the full report.

Airball: Last week, Sports Illustrated publisher The Arena Group terminated CEO Ross Levinsohn after a report that the publication used AI to produce stories and create fake author bios. The questionable content was removed from the magazine's website.

New York Times expands ad targeting: The Athletic and other lifestyle properties enable brands to reach engaged audiences, reducing focus on hard news topics.

For example, it now sells adidas鈥� adaptive training wear that鈥檚 designed for athletes who play sports while seated or in a wheelchair, as well as JanSport backpacks and crossbody bags designed in collaboration with the nonprofit Disability:IN. Our take: Not only is inclusivity a good goal in and of itself, but it is also a major business opportunity.

Footwear includes boots, sandals, shoes, slippers, and sneakers of all materials; it excludes specialty sports footwear (e.g., bowling shoes, golf shoes, cleats). Accessories includes all accessories for personal adornment, such as belts, costume jewelry, fine jewelry, handbags, hats, nonprescription sunglasses, scarves, and watches; it excludes footwear.

There won鈥檛 be a Dish-DirecTV merger: Debtholders quashed the deal, which would have helped buy time to stave off linear鈥檚 decline.

As streaming of live events like sports and awards shows increases, advertisers鈥� CTV strategy may not be set up for live TV. And just like how the mood may change within a TV show, a live event鈥檚 mood will likely change from one point to another.

Beyond politics: The decline of regional sports could also be responsible for local advertising growth. Increased cord-cutting has been a death knell for regional sports. Diamond Sports Group, a Sinclair-owned portfolio of regional sports networks, declared bankruptcy in March after cord-cutting cut into its viewership and its streaming offering Bally+ failed to take off.

So, sports betting, definitely a lot of people doing it, more people doing it, and a lot of money to be made as well. Daniel, I thought it was also an interesting thought here from Amanda Mull of The Atlantic talking about conflict of interest. She was saying, quote, "Now ESPN will have its thumb on all three scales in sports.

There won鈥檛 be a Dish-DirecTV merger: Debtholders quashed the deal, which would have helped buy time to stave off linear鈥檚 decline.