I was going to mention that Paramount+ in the US were promoting Live Sport as part of their offering - as a point of difference when they do that relaunch, then wonder why Ten didn’t go down that path and also bid for a similar package.
I can see the attraction for them - it can be the extra little thing that keeps someone leaving a Stan subscription going in months when their fresh content is drying up, and might be a useful pivot as some of their content licenses dry up - like their Showtime deal.
I suppose there’s a chicken and egg with a WWOS subscription - they need to build up enough content to launch such a service, and need somewhere to put it while it builds up. Maybe they could structure it such that it is a “WWOS+” and it is ‘included free with Stan’ for the first 12 months or whatever and then slowly becomes it’s own paid service - either bundled or standalone - once it gains enough content to justify it.
Otherwise you’re Optus Sport but for something much fewer people care about.
Those that have said this is a toe in the water thing are right.
Build the Stan Sport package slowly, but if it works it could be a game changer in Australian sport. You only have to look to NZ, where admittedly the Rugby World Cup was a bigger deal than it is in Australia but it got people into the Spark Sport platform. They added F1 and Premier League at the same time and now they have home cricket rights for six years. Nine has the obvious FTA component which makes it a multi-platform sell.
I know Optus is around but it hasn’t clinched a ‘home’ sport (yet).
It could also do the opposite. If I’m a Stan subscriber and the price goes up, I’m going to immediately think that the sport that I have no interest in is to blame. It’s like the resentment a lot of people had towards FOXTEL; having to pay for the garbage base pack when they just wanted sport or movies.
Paramount+ is kind of a new service though. Stan is a very successful existing business that IMO doesn’t need distractions, clutter or splintering off in all sorts of directions.
What do they have at the moment? Obviously rugby league and netball are out. What are the digital rights like for the tennis? Do 9 have the cricket world cup and overseas Ashes rights?
If 9 want to be in the business of sports streaming for the long haul, why not start building the brand now?
Again, I’m not sold on bundling it with Stan, but perhaps they could work on something with their papers and subscriptions for the first 12 months or so? With the goal of standing it up as it’s own entity in due course.
Got to start somewhere; could either bundle it (or discount it) with the papers, or even offer it dirt cheap just to get the idea in people’s heads and a base to build upon.
Spark Sport is a standalone sport streaming service, akin to Kayo right? I still reckon sports streaming and general entertainment streaming ought to be kept separate.
The more I think about it, and the potential tie ins with the 9 FTA channel, the more I think it needs to be it’s own thing, separate from Stan. I reckon WWOS+ is the way to go, and slowly start picking up the rights as they become available.
That’s a tad unfair. As someone who recently moved from FOXTEL satellite to Kayo, the Kayo offering is far more flexible and better value.
We dont know what the detail around the streaming offering is - it may be the case that Stan adjust their pricing model to include a sports tier.
The streaming requirements for live sport are different to those for content from a library (like Stan currently is) - this has caught out a number of streaming companies in the past
I get you like 10, but there would be no need for this to happen. Nine’s coverage of the Netball is paid for by government grants, so it will stay on Nine as long as that money keeps coming in.
I suspect there will be a lot of eyes on how this works out - some sports may be skeptical to shift to an unknown entity regarding the streaming side (new live streaming providers have historically had a rocky start) but could be easily buoyed by a successful first year for Rugby.
Turning this into a viable sports-focused streaming service will probably require not just more sports, but potentially a few of those being reasonably popular / sought after.
