A recent study from USC’s Center for the Digital Future shows that 63% of all cord cutters and pay TV subscribers are willing to pay for access to sports online without cable.
The study sampled 1,005 people between January 6 and February 2, 2016, and there was a strong correlation—as one would expect—between how much people like sports and their willingness to pay to view sports. Of the so-called intensive sports fans, 78% said they would be willing to pay for streaming access to sports.
“Sports is the last category of must-see-now content,” said Jeffrey Cole, founder and director of the Center for the Digital Future. “Based on our data, genZ and millennial fans are clearly shifting preferences, behavior and spending.”
Yet whereas sports fans may be willing to pay for access to sports content without the need for cable TV, pay TV providers are worried that losing exclusive access to sports would quicken the cord cutting trend.
Although interest is clearly there, pay TV providers are unwilling to give up one of the last reasons people want to watch TV live. Whereas there are more options than ever to watch sports without cable TV, we still have a long way to go before every sporting event is available without cable TV.
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