Live Sports Helping Drive Streaming App Subscriptions

Live sports have been a cornerstone of traditional linear TV for decades, and that dynamic remains a big part of streaming as well. Data from LG Ad Solutions' new report, Stadium to Screen: Streaming Live Sports in 2024, shows the top streaming apps used to watch live sports – and which ones are subscribed to ONLY for live sports.

• While ESPN+ has the highest share of subscribers only for live sports, at 24%, that's also the entire value proposition of the service.
• But even more generalized services like Amazon Prime Video and Hulu see nearly half of the subscription base related directly to live sports viewership; and even Apple TV+, which is limited to Friday MLB games and MLS matches, has nearly 40% of its subscribers due to live sports viewership.
• Also interestingly, 38% of those LG Ad Solutions surveyed used three or more apps for streaming live sports – a commentary around both how much consumers are willing to invest in tune-in, as well as how spread out live sports are across numerous services today.