Can Appointment TV Make the Transition to Streaming?
The trend has been ongoing for years now: The rise of streaming and the steady fall of traditional broadcast and cable. The data doesn't lie and the trend of cord cutters continues, but there's one area that still gives traditional TV stations and networks the advantage when it comes to viewership: Appointment television.
Live sports, award shows, political debates and election news coverage made up the entirety of the top 100 most-watched programming of 2024, and streaming apps are well-aware of the next pie they want a piece of.
72 of those 100 programs were live NFL games, and Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Netflix have already brokered deals to start bringing more games onto their platforms, outbidding the likes of ESPN, Fox, and CBS to secure those games. Also over on Netflix, 2025 sees the addition of WWE Monday Night Raw, which has been a ratings heavy-hitter since the 90's. You can expect more aggressive moves from these apps to gobble up these kinds of successful programs, but the question remains -
Will the viewers follow?
Streaming is segmented and walled off, not so easy to just click a single button on a remote to flip back and forth between channels, and every app brings its own subscriber fees. How many subscriptions will the average American viewer tolerate to watch the NFL? Increased premium content will equal increased premium subscriptions that viewers will have to pay, what is the tipping point where people say no? Where will people watch live news once they cut the cable cord? *Will* people still watch live news once they cut the cable cord? These are all questions that don't have solid answers yet.
The prices Amazon, Netflix, and more paid to add live streaming content is a high one, and while it looks good and flashy to start, these are longterm investments that must pay off over years. Ad-supported content can make up plenty of the cost, but will it be enough, and will the viewers stay with the programming?
Keep your eyes on the trends, and talk to the experts at SilverBack Advertising to learn more about the future of digital media and advertising!