Sports OTT: The Big Mobile Opportunity

A point of revolution in sport consumption

While linear TV is still a lucrative channel, it’s widely accepted that OTT is the future of entertainment consumption.

That portion of the sports industry set to be worth $85 billion by 2024, and it must be primed to ride the crest of its wave.

Rights holders know they have the product, they know they have the core D2C audience, they know they have the business case – but the key question is, what’s going to give them a competitive advantage?

“One of the aspects of streaming products that is often overlooked is accessibility – both in terms of audience reach, and frictionless subscriber acquisition. Mobile operator distribution and payments add value on both fronts.”

Understand the power of mobile

• Mobile operator distribution and mobile payments should be core to rights holders’ OTT and D2C strategy.
• Netflix, Spotify and Deezer have been doing it for many years – with the NBA now following suit.
• There are 6.1 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide – with video making up 63% of all global mobile web traffic.
• In a sports-mad continent like Africa, TV and credit card penetration is low – but smartphones are booming.
• For many, mobile is the only way to access and pay for content – which is why mobile operator distribution is so powerful.
• DCB mobile payments are becoming mainstream, rising by 62% to 2023 in Sports OTT.