A year ago, sports programming was just starting to bubble up across streaming platforms. With CTV penetration in the U.S. now above 80% and time spent with CTV overtaking traditional, live TV viewing, the shift is far more pronounced—and so is the amount of content.
The appeal of sports distribution is undeniable, and streaming services, particularly SVOD providers, have rapidly escalated their sports rights acquisition strategies over the past year to capitalize on the immense engagement that sports programming commands—especially live competitions.
68% of Americans say they’re likely to subscribe to a streaming service for live sports
-2025 Gracenote global streaming consumer survey
As a result, global SVOD providers have ramped up their acquisition strategies to significantly grow their sports catalogs over the past year. At the individual game/event level, sports distribution across the six providers tracked in the Gracenote Data Hub now eclipses 38.5k programs. For context, that’s more than half the number of movies they offer.
As of Q2 2026, sports programming accounts for 5% of the global SVOD providers’ combined catalogs. And while Netflix frequently takes the media spotlight for its sports rights, including the exclusive 2026 MLB opening night game, HBO Max is the leading SVOD distributor of sports content, followed by Paramount+ (partially as a result of its acquisition of UFC broadcast rights in January 2026).
While the influx of sports programs to streaming services aligns with shifting viewing behaviors, the scattered nature of content across channels and services continues to complicate content discovery for viewers, especially on game day. That’s because outside of Apple TV’s deal with MLS, the days of watching an entire season’s worth of games within a consolidated experience are over.
Even with growing fragmentation, however, the growing adoption of CTV and streaming is driving higher viewership on SVOD services, especially those that offer a significant amount of programming. Amazon Prime Video, for example, distributed 66 NBA games during the 2025-26 regular season and approximately one-third of the games during the first two rounds of the playoffs. As a frequent carrier of NBA games this season, viewership on the platform was on par with that of traditional TV.
Live sports programming is growing on FAST channels
Importantly, SVOD services aren’t alone in the migration of sports to streaming. FAST channels are growing increasingly relevant for sports as well, including live games. And while the percentage of live games on FAST channels has remained steady at 37%-41% of sports content over the past six months, the number of games has grown substantially.
The number of dedicated sports channels on FAST has also ramped up over the past year, particularly after the close of 2025.
Growing fragmentation adds to content discovery challenges
While the increase in sports content across streaming options aligns with shifting viewing behaviors, the wide distribution continues to amplify content discovery challenges among viewers looking to catch the action. Nearly 60% of people in the U.S. say they now subscribe to streaming services for live sports, but 26% report knowing what they want to watch and still being unable to find it’.
Here, user experience is paramount, especially when a service actually has what a viewer is looking for. With data, platforms, aggregators and content providers have the ability to deliver the unified content experience that fragmentation has dismantled. Whether it be by providing audiences with guidance to specific programs (including games and competitions) or showcasing related content that aligns with individual viewer profiles, user experience is the new driver of viewer satisfaction as distribution continues to splinter.
Note
- Gracenote 2025 streaming consumer survey
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