Sports fans are turning to streaming apps

Fans are increasingly watching live sports via streaming apps, including around half of UK football followers who are expecting to watch the upcoming UEFA cup finals via this channel. 

Why sports streaming matters 

That’s according to a study* from LG Ad Solutions which highlights the opportunity for brands to enhance sports engagement across streaming apps. It suggests brands need to look beyond the 30-second ad slot and take advantage of innovations in the CTV space – first-screen ads or CTV Native formats, for example – to cut through the noise and stand out.

Takeaways 

• Seventy-two percent of UK consumers are increasingly comfortable streaming live sports. Over a third use three or more streaming apps to watch live sports, with Sky Sports (57%), BBC (55%) and Prime Video (53%) being the most popular. 
• Most (92%) of UK CTV viewers watch live sports on TV, indicating the powerful pull of sports on the big screen, and half (52%) already plan to stream the 2024 UEFA Euro Cup finals; a smaller proportion will stream the Olympics (39%) or are streaming the Six Nations Rugby Tournament (39% again).
• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK viewers pay attention to ads as they watch sports content, while 72% are more likely to recall brands featured in such ads. 
• Eight in ten (79%) UK viewers wish ads during sports events were more relevant, and nearly as many (72%) would like ads to include game scores and updates. 

* The study Stadium to Screen: Streaming Live Sports in 2024 surveyed more than 500 UK adults (all with CTV and who had watched live sporting events on TV at least once in the previous 12 months) to understand behaviour and preferences around watching live sports on TV.

Sourced from LG