Netflix’s recent acquisition of the rights to the 2024 NFL Christmas games marks a significant shift into live broadcasting, building on its ventures into fan events and stand-up comedy. Indeed, streamers have increasingly turned to live content over recent years. We can differentiate 3 types of “live content” on streaming platforms. First come Sports events like annual tournaments (NBA, NFL, Football) or seasonal ones (Boxing fights, live coverage of sports events such as the Olympic Games). Second comes the “Live shows” (music festivals, concerts or comedy shows) engaging targeted communities. Last come 24/7 live streaming channels, feeds often dedicated to one genre, that can be available for free (FAST channels) or not. While the latter aren't live in the traditional sense, they offer linear feeds, often using on-demand content, blurring the line between live and on-demand formats. Nevertheless, those 3 types of live content are gaining traction in the streaming content world, and highlight a shift back toward linear content. What’s behind Netflix and other streamers’ strategy with live content? Why is live content gaining popularity on OTT platforms? OTT pure players are enhancing their live streaming technologies as growing the ad-tier subscriber base has become their priority to diversify revenue streams and reach a broader audience. Also, 5G and Fiber penetration developments are paving the way for streamers. Live sports remain the biggest draw, driving the most engagement and advertising revenues. The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, streamed through NBCU’s digital platforms like Peacock, generated 23.5 billion minutes of viewing, also including the live coverage of the Opening and Closing ceremonies. However, live entertainment formats, such as concerts and fan events, are also growing, allowing streamers to engage niche communities and diversify their content offerings. In the past two years, OTT platforms have prioritized live content, especially in music, reality TV and ceremonies. The number of Live music shows airing on streaming platforms has more than doubled between 2022 and 2024 for the major OTT platforms in the Americas, from less than 10 in the S1 2022 to almost 30 planned for the S2 2024. This includes special performances from popular artists as in the Amazon Prime Day concerts (Lil Baby, Ed Sheeran…) to promote its shopping event, or in the Apple Music Live Concert Series, Vix Live Sessions Series, etc. It is perfectly suited for global companies like Amazon Prime and Apple that also sell music products. However, Live music more importantly covers the diffusion of local music festivals or concerts: the Bad Bunny Concert Special on Vix in March 2022, Billy Joel at the Madison Square Garden on Paramount+ in April 2024, iHeartRadio Music Festival 2024 on Hulu in September 2024, and many others. This is a strong...
