It’s one of the major drivers of today’s media streaming service subscriptions while also being one of the key impediments to consumers “cutting the cord,” as the trend continues to grow: live sports streaming. At CEDIA Expo 2023, live sports streaming will be addressed head on in what’s sure to be a fascinating discussion being staged by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.

Only a few years ago, live sports streaming options were nowhere or very scarce to be found on streaming platforms. ESPN+ was among the leaders, naturally, but soon enough just as the rest of broadcast TV was transformed from a network schedule-driven viewing experience to an on-demand one, a similar shift is happening in live sports.

At CEDIA Expo 2023 in Denver, taking place at the Colorado Convention Center Sept. 7-9 (conference Sept. 6-8), integrators will be able to hear about the latest on the topic of sports streaming from executives right in the industry thanks to the all-star panel DEG has put together. The session will take place in the Four Seasons Ballroom.

Rob Stecklow, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sports & News at Paramount+ and Brian Gilmore, Vice President of Peacock and Digital Programming at NBC Sports will be participating in a special CEDIA Expo Conference session on Friday, Sept. 8, being held from 10:30 – 11:30 am.

The executives for these leading platforms will provide an overview of their respective direct-to-consumer platforms and outline initiatives being developed in cooperation with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) that have the potential to create exciting new opportunities for custom integrators. 

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DEG Senior Advisor Marc Finer will moderate the panel, which will also include Walt Zerbe, Senior Director of Technology & Standards for CEDIA and Tom Doherty, Director of New Technology Initiatives for the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) buying group.

“DEG’s Live Sports Council is working to promote the many benefits associated with sports streaming and to achieve best practices across the industry while delivering the highest-level user experience,” says Amy Jo Smith, DEG President & CEO.

“The Council’s discussions with the leading AV buying groups have the potential to contribute to these efforts by establishing new partnerships that generate opportunities for the custom integrators and sports platforms, and bring value to the consumers.”

Live Sports Streaming Network Options Now Proliferate

From the integrator’s perspective on having content curation discussions with customers, who may be wondering where they can view their favorite sports on streaming services these days.

Think about the confusion for the sports enthusiast customers, who have been experiencing whirlwind broadcast rights movements among all the major sports in the past couple of years – NFL Sunday Ticket moving from DirecTV to YouTube, Amazon Prime airing Thursday Night Football, Friday Night MLB games on Apple+ and more.

Peacock, for instance, posts the claim, “The Most Live Sports of Any Streamer,” on its website, backed up by Premier League soccer, Sunday Night Football, WWE wrestling, PGA & LPGA golf, MLB games, Big Ten and Notre Dame football, IndyCar, cycling, track & field, gymnastics and more (don’t forget, NBC has the Olympics).

Paramount+ also has a wealth of live sports, from UEFA Champions League, other Euro leagues and NWSL soccer to NFL football, pro golf and more (don’t forget, CBS/Paramount+ has March Madness).

The panel will focus on business challenges facing live sports streaming — rising content acquisition costs, subscriber churn, hardware technical requirements, and the need for education and training — will be addressed.

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