Weekly Newsletter 10/26
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INNOVATION IN ACTION
Sports Media - Moving Beyond Live Rights
When it comes to customer acquisition through media, live sports are the holy grail. It is one of the reasons rights deals continue to get bigger, in turn forcing in-person experiences to evolve. Industry giants Disney and Amazon have made live sports media part of their fan (and customer) acquisition strategy, with Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime and the many ESPN+ and Hulu offerings from Disney. But with media rights deals becoming increasingly expensive, how can the rest of the industry use other kinds of media as a fan acquisition strategy?
Netflix has a proven ability to attract an audience AND grow an entirely separate fanbase. Chess sales, for example, increased following the release of the miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit.” Last week, Netflix reported a huge comeback in their subscriber base, bringing in 2.4 million subscribers in Q3. This brings their total to 223 million global subscribers, reversing the previous two quarters’ trends. Partnerships that bring sports-themed original content are helping drive this growth. Formula 1’s goal to grow in the U.S. was helped by the series “Drive To Survive” on Netflix. And the media strategy seems to be working, with 57% of adults saying they became fans within the past 5 years.
So who has the biggest opportunity to acquire new fans through original content?
Our data shows a relationship between racing fans and Netflix subscribers. Our data from 2019 shows that only 12% of racing fans paid for Netflix. This share of fans jumped to 31%, an overall 151% increase in the percentage of racing fans using this streaming service in 2020. While the pandemic certainly impacted subscriber behavior, the racing community saw the highest single year jump among sports communities. In comparison, General Sports Fans only had a 28% increase in the percentage of fans that also spend with Netflix during this time period.
Netflix is already eyeing its next sports community, with a golf series debuting in early 2023. According to our data, 28% of golf enthusiasts pay for Netflix. While this number is only a few percentage points off the football high, the volume of golfers is huge compared to traditional sports. The sport grew tremendously during the pandemic, and Netflix is responding with a documentary slated for 2023.
***Our data comes from a random panel of 10 million credit & debit card holders in the United States. Transactions portrayed here are from 1/1/2018 through 10/26/2022.
Major League Baseball also has an opportunity here. Although they have a broadcast deal with Apple TV for live content, there are plenty of current and historical baseball stories, in addition to movies, that can be leveraged to attract new and younger audiences. Netflix should consider this partnership as an opportunity to take advantage of an older consumer base. Apple TV could also expand its footprint in baseball by adding on demand content to its live Friday Night Baseball lineup.
Rights holders should be focusing on original content and distributing through channels their customers frequent. Knowing where potential consumers are is a huge advantage, as different types of content need to be catered to their distribution channel. To learn more about capturing new fans and the data behind our insights visit sportsilab.com.
Hot News In Sport
Championship Season Is Right Around The Corner For The MLB and NWSL
The Astros are favored to win the World Series because of their undefeated run so far in the playoffs. The Astros won 106 games during the regular season as well, so they are in a good spot to make a run for the title. On the other hand, the Phillies were the last team to make the National League playoffs. The Phillies are embracing the underdog role; if the MLB followed the old Wild Card playoff format they would have been out already. However, they swept the Cardinals in the Wild Card round, upset the Braves 3-1 in the division series and took out the Padres 4-1 in the National League Championship Series. Their record was 87-75 this season, so they have a lot to prove going into the World Series this weekend. The first game of the World Series is this Friday, October 28 at 8:03 p.m. The final game is Saturday, November 5 at 8:03 p.m.
The NWSL Championship, presented by Budweiser is set for Saturday, October 29 in its first-ever primetime spot at 8:00 p.m. ET live from Audi Field. The Portland Thorns will take on the Kansas City Current and it will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
In the NWSL semifinals, second-seed Portland Thorns FC hosted third-seed San Diego Wave FC at Providence Park and first-seed OL Reign hosted fifth-seed Kansas City Current at Lumen Field. The Thorns took home the win with a score of 2-1 and Kansas City emerged victorious over OL Reign 2-0.
Excited to check in next week about these exciting events on the horizon!
Sports Innovation Lab Events
SIL At Advertising Week NYC and Financial Times Business of Sport Summit
This past week, Content Manager Peyton King traveled to Ad Week in New York City to partake in some of the best conversations surrounding the marketing and advertising world. Peyton was able to attend many different panel conversations about sports, entertainment, innovation, and fans. Some of the panels she attended were: Fans Have More Friends: A Conversation on Sports Fandom, Curiosity in Creativity: How Exploration Fuels Innovation, Winning the Name Game: New Rules of Sports’ Most Successful Naming Rights Deals, The Shifting Seas of Social Strategy, and many more. We can't wait to hear what insights she learned and how her new knowledge will continue to improve SILs marketing strategies
Our CEO, Angela Ruggiero, had the opportunity to be a part of the Financial Times Business of Sport Summit this week. She was a panelist on the panel "The Boom In Sports Betting: What Does The Future Hold?" The conference congregated some of the most reputable names across the sports industry, and topics included the key factors that will spur a rise in sports investing, the next big growth driver in women’s sports, and more. Thank you, Financial Times!
If you're ready to create breakthrough fan experiences and connect with the Fluid Fan through technology, visit our website sportsilab.com or email info@sportsilab.com!