New consumer research from Ampere Analysis has highlighted the importance of live sports to US streaming platforms. Ampere’s latest consumer survey shows that streaming platforms that held rights to the NFL saw a significant boost to monthly active viewing in the first quarter 2024, far greater than platforms without NFL rights. Paramount+, which had rights to the Super Bowl LVIII, saw the biggest boost, with its overall monthly viewer base growing 22% in the six months to February 2024.

All US streaming platforms that hold NFL rights saw average growth in monthly active viewers of 14% between Q3 2023 and Q1 2024, compared to 10% growth across SVoD platforms as a whole: In Q1 2024, 50% of US Internet users claimed to have used Amazon Prime in the past month (+8%), 22% used Paramount+ (+22%) and 21% used Peacock (+18%)
 
This monthly active viewing increases even further among NFL fans: Amazon Prime rises to 59%, Paramount+ to 30%, and Peacock to 28%, highlighting how this cohort is driving engagement. Of all the streaming platforms with NFL rights, Paramount+ has seen the biggest growth in monthly active viewing, driven by Super Bowl LVIII on the 11^th of February, which had the highest US TV ratings since the 1969 moon landing
 
The growth in viewership for platforms holding NFL rights  shows how important tier 1 sports rights can be to streaming platforms, especially in an increasingly competitive streaming  market. While most US domestic rights have now been tied up, Q2 will likely see the awarding of the NBA rights, the last chance for US platforms or streamers to get a seat at the table for a significant amount of time. As streaming  platforms try to diversify revenue streams through advertising, live sports will play a bigger role in helping to guarantee large audiences, thereby pushing up advertising value.