How Sports Can Increase Streamer Sign-Ups, But Retainment of Subscribers is a Challenge
Sports programming on subscription streaming platforms is drawing in new sign-ups, but the challenge lies in keeping those subscribers engaged, as per Antenna’s State of Subscriptions: Sports & Streaming report.
Paramount+ experienced a 41% increase in daily sign-ups during the NFL seasons of 2023 and 2024, with an average of 117,000 new subscribers each day. Peacock also saw a boost, with a 25% rise in daily sign-ups during these seasons. Interestingly, individuals who cancelled Peacock after the WWE Premium Live Events were more likely to watch WWE Raw on Netflix, according to the report.
Antenna, a data aggregation firm, highlighted the growth of league-level sports services, virtual MVPDs, and regional sports networks as sports continues to carve out its space in the digital realm. Here are some other key takeaways from the report:
New players in the game: The interest in live sports streaming was evident through ESPN Unlimited, a new sports streamer that amassed 1.7 million sign-ups since its launch in August, with two-thirds of these sign-ups opting for bundled offerings like ESPN Unlimited/Disney+/Hulu. Fox One, another newcomer, accumulated 2.3 million sign-ups by October, with a majority coming through Amazon Channels.
The world of vMVPDs: Not all streaming services saw the same success as ESPN Unlimited and Fox One. Virtual MVPDs like Hulu + Live TV and Fubo faced a 12% decline in overall user sign-ups year-over-year in Q3. Despite this, these services still attracted 4.7 million sign-ups, particularly during the start of football season. YouTube TV took the lead in terms of market share among vMVPDs, capturing 44% of sign-ups in Q3.
Scoring big with SVODs: Streaming platforms like Apple TV saw a surge in sign-ups due to sports properties like Major League Baseball. While MLB games were popular on Apple TV, retention rates for these sign-ups were comparable or lower than average. Similarly, live boxing events on Netflix, like the Canelo vs. Crawford match, brought in significant sign-ups, with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson match drawing even more.
Touchdown with football: It’s no surprise that football drove sign-ups across streaming platforms. NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket subscriptions peaked in September, reaching 3 million and 2.1 million respectively. Across all league sports services, NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket accounted for 82% of total Q3 sign-ups, showing an 18% year-over-year growth in Q3 2025.
In conclusion, while sports programming may attract new subscribers to streaming platforms, the challenge lies in retaining these subscribers in the long run. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how streaming services adapt to meet the changing demands of sports fans.
