Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Sports streaming in Europe - statistics & facts
The world of sports viewing is undergoing a period of significant growth and change, with a global survey revealing that around 30 percent of engaged sports fans subscribe to streaming platforms to gain access to exclusive live programming. While the U.S. is a trailblazer when it comes to streaming live sporting events, more and more European consumers are also jumping on the bandwagon. Major digital providers, such as DAZN, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky, are adapting to this trend and investing a growing amount in sports rights.
However, the European sports streaming market is as diverse as its countries. Hence it should come as no surprise that domestic providers are usually the most common services to watch sports online. While Sky Sports and BBC’s on-demand offer stand out in the UK, Canal+ is in favor in France. Furthermore, there are the sports-related platforms Eurosport and DAZN, with the latter having around 2.1 million unique viewers in Italy, while three percent of French respondents to a survey stated to have access to this service.
The European sports viewing landscape is witnessing a surge in consumer engagement and digital transformation. With a strong preference for soccer content, a growing reliance on subscription-based streaming services, and large streaming platforms seeing the demand for specific sporting events, a shift towards digital services is becoming increasingly prominent.
A growing multifaceted market
With soccer being the most popular sports for which viewers have streaming subscriptions, Amazon secured significant deals for the upcoming season 2024-2025, accounting for one third of the UEFA Champions League media rights in the UK and in Italy, as well as nearly two percent of the rights to the English Premier League. In fact, Amazon Prime Video is the third most used sports streaming app in the UK, with over half of respondents to an early 2024 survey currently using and 29 percent of people subscribing only for live sports events. Broadcasting the football league Ligue 1 in France, the e-commerce giant is also a dominant player in the French sports streaming market.However, the European sports streaming market is as diverse as its countries. Hence it should come as no surprise that domestic providers are usually the most common services to watch sports online. While Sky Sports and BBC’s on-demand offer stand out in the UK, Canal+ is in favor in France. Furthermore, there are the sports-related platforms Eurosport and DAZN, with the latter having around 2.1 million unique viewers in Italy, while three percent of French respondents to a survey stated to have access to this service.
Sporting events boost streaming consumption
Despite an increased choice of sports streaming services, the majority of sports enthusiasts in Europe still watch this kind of content via cable, satellite, and antenna. A survey conducted in the UK on most popular ways of watching live sports found that 37 percent of respondents do so mostly on traditional TV. Meanwhile, 30 percent of people interviewed predominantly streamed those events on TV apps. Yet, single sporting events are attracting more and more viewers to watch them via streaming services. The tennis tournament the French Open, broadcast on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform Discovery+, significantly increased its audience across several European countries, with the highest year-over-year growth rate reaching in the UK and Germany.The European sports viewing landscape is witnessing a surge in consumer engagement and digital transformation. With a strong preference for soccer content, a growing reliance on subscription-based streaming services, and large streaming platforms seeing the demand for specific sporting events, a shift towards digital services is becoming increasingly prominent.
