As soccer fans around the globe watch the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and four years of hope comes down to 90 minutes of game time, one clear favorite has emerged: TV streaming.
This year’s World Cup will bring a huge bump of net new users globally across streaming platforms, surpassing the MLB audience on traditional linear TV. In fact, as we detail in Roku’s new 2023 Predictions report, the tournament could have big implications for how sports streaming plays out globally in the coming 12 months.
Global sporting events attract new streaming viewers
As we’ve seen before, global sporting events can be a major draw for new subscribers to the platforms that stream them. For instance, the availability of Winter Olympics coverage on NBCU-owned streaming apps led to a 250% month-over-month increase in the number of first-time streamers to the service.¹
With the introduction of more sports and sports-related content in streaming — including a new sports hub on Roku, “The Rich Eisen Show” on The Roku Channel, Major League Soccer on Apple TV, and more— sports audiences will become used to staying on their favorite streaming platforms rather than toggling back to linear TV. This surge will help to increase streaming sports audiences across key demos next year.²
Gen Z embraces sports streaming
Gen Z now streams one out of every three hours of sports viewing, a number that has steadily increased year-on-year.³ The coming year will bring us much closer to a future where a majority of sports viewing happens via streaming channels.
What does this mean for advertisers?
The World Cup brings people together like no other sporting event, and global audiences are streaming the games in record numbers. Advertisers should be aware of how major events like the World Cup can attract new subscribers to streaming platforms and new viewers to other content on those platforms.
This upward trend is expected to continue, particularly among younger audiences, as sports streaming will likely eventually overtake linear sports viewing.
¹ Roku Internal streaming data 2022.
²‾³ Through Q3 2022. Roku analysis of Nielsen data; Reflects viewership on Traditional TV /Set-Top Box vs. viewership on Smart TV and/or Internet-Connected Devices.
