Why Many Sports Fans Still Aren’t Willing To Cut The Cord

To cut the cord or not to cut the cord, it is a question that many households are continuing to consider deep into 2018. A new report makes it seem as though hardcore sports fans may want to wait a while until they migrate from more traditional cable products to the likes of YouTube TV and Hulu.

The biggest culprits for ruining a live streamed sporting event are substantial delays compared to when the actual event is taking place, coupled with the fixation for concurrently checking social media while watching a live game, according to a new report from Limelight Networks titled, “The State of Online Video 2018.”

Limelight Networks says that events streamed online are generally delayed by thirty seconds or more from the broadcast feed. This tends to lead to viewers experiencing “spoilers” by learning about big plays from social media like Twitter prior to viewing the action through their live streaming provider.

It is apparently a big issue for sports fans. Globally, 59.5% of respondents to Limelight’s survey said they would be more likely to watch live sports online if there would be no delay from the broadcast. Almost 66% of male respondents said they would be more likely to stream sporting events if guaranteed no delay.

Rebuffering is also a major annoyance for sports fans. It is the primary frustration for 43% of the global respondents to Limelight’s survey and two-thirds of the respondents said they will stop watching a video after experiencing rebuffering on two occasions.

As such, this is something that live streaming providers should be working on diligently in order to capture a broader audience and enhance the rate at which people are cutting the cord.

Price is still the most important factor for people when they consider cancelling their cable subscriptions. 46.4% of respondents to Limelight’s survey said they would cancel if cable prices continue to rise.

Yet, sports as a category is an important part of the decision making process as well. In addition to issues with streaming delay, consumers want to see more sports and live events to become available online. 7.4% of respondents said they will be most tempted to terminate their cable subscription when more sports content is accessible through streaming services.