Are Discovery the latest provider to aim to launch the ‘Netflix of Sport’

The other week, we wrote about the exciting possibilities the new ‘Netflix of Sport’ would present for the online streaming of sport in the future.

The German company behind that venture, DAZN, has been offering sport on the platform now for a few weeks, but already the idea is being floated around now Discovery Communications, who own Eurosport, are thinking of doing the same thing.

Eurosport currently owns rights to the likes of the Tour de France, but Discovery is also a rights holder for the next four Olympic Games, starting in 2018 (that’s the winter games in Pyeongchang in South Korea).

Speaking at the at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in Manhattan, Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said, according to the New York Post, “We own it all and when we go to the player and charge $8 per subscriber we’re in a whole different game,”

“For us, Eurosport direct-to-consumer fills the full circle of where the world is going.”

And that is indeed good news for sports fans who love choice when it comes to watching sport, and also want to be in control of what they’re watching. This is an innovation that would enable Discovery and Eurosport to simply allow its customers to enjoy all the sport it has the rights to, without having to prioritise what it shows on its three Eurosport channels.

It’s also good news for the traditional broadcasters who have the rights to the biggest sporting events.

With Twitter and Apple seemingly interested in getting in on the live sport action, broadcasters are increasingly coming under threat from digitally native companies offering platforms for live streaming – a method of watching sport that is growing by the week.

If Eurosport is diversifying its appeal in order to cope with the online-streaming craze, then why can’t other broadcasters do the same thing? The worry for the consumer is that the choice could become too diverse: if dozens of different rights holders start to spring up, that might mean the discerning sports fan would have to pay subscription fees to dozens of different service providers.

For the moment, though, it is quite clear that the trend is towards more online streaming and more live sport across digital platforms – so it’s about time a rights-holding traditional broadcaster started offering the public what they so clearly want!

About author

Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan 831 posts

Chris is a sports journalist and editor of Digital Sport - follow him on Twitter @CJMcMullan_

You might also like

SPORTEL 2021: Day One Recap

This year’s prestigious SPORTEL convention kicked off in sunny Monaco today, welcoming a host of familiar faces as well as plenty of new ones. Doors opened at 8:30am with businesses

Six Founding Riders Set To Bring The Vision Of The UCI Track Champions League To Life

Olympic Champions, UCI World Champions and World Record holders join the new track cycling competition debuting in November 2021 The UCI Track Champions League is delighted to announce that six

Sports related spending to soar this summer as pre-pandemic life resumes

New insights from eBay Ads UK reveal the potential for brands to engage with an excited but nervous nation as sports events get back on track  As pubs and indoor