According to LRG estimates, YouTube TV had a strong Q3, adding 600K subscribers. We discuss the role of Sunday Ticket and the changing nature of sports distribution.
News items (1:10)
YouTube TV sees big gains in Q3 2023 (9:45)
The Leichtman Research Group estimates that YouTube TV gained 600,000 subscribers in the third quarter. We discuss if YouTube’s acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket has had a big impact on the growth of the vMVPD.
We discussed the growth of the vMVPD market. Fubo and YouTube TV exhibited the strongest growth in the quarter, and both are heavily focused on sports.
The migration of the RSN sports online (14:30)
The bankruptcy and impending closure of Diamond Sports have teams and leagues scrambling to find alternate routes to their audience. Streaming is a part of the solution, but some also work with local broadcasters. However, the traditional TV market continues to be plagued by carriage disputes, which can disrupt access. For example, YouTube TV is currently in a dispute with Gray Television, resulting in KPHO-TV in Arizona being dropped from the service on November 18th if a deal is not reached. The Phoenix Sun’s games started airing on the channel after its owner did not renew its deal with Bally Sports, owner of Diamond Sports.
NWSL deal is exemplary of the complexity in the sports market (18:30)
The National Women’s Soccer League struck a new four-year deal to distribute its games. While the deal is great for the league, which receives almost ten times the revenue of the previous deal, it is problematic for fans. The games will be scattered across streaming and broadcast properties, making finding a particular game a real challenge.
