CTV platforms Vizio and Roku have each made recent plays to expand content rosters and experiences for sports fans on their respective free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services.
In a notable move that capitalizes on sports fandom as well as a more recent rise in the prominence and popularity of women’s sports, Vizio this week announced its WatchFree+ service will serve as the exclusive home in the U.S. for The Women’s World Cup Summer 2024 Tournament games. It marks the first exclusive live sporting event for the WatchFree+ FAST.
Specifically, Vizio has eight exclusive games, which are available on a dedicated pop-up FAST channel from Thursday August 7 to August 19. Vendor Amagi is powering live broadcasts and the pop-up channel for Vizio’s Women’s World cup coverage.
Roku, meanwhile, introduced a new channel this week – dubbed Roku Sports Channel – available on The Roku Channel FAST service. The 24/7 channel curates and aggregates all of Roku’s premium sports content, both owned and licensed, into one dedicated free streaming linear lineup. That includes live Major League Baseball games that Roku scored exclusive rights to earlier this year with its MLB Sunday Leadoff package, as well as live Formula E races. The channel also has sports-themed Roku Originals that offer sports-related content such as “NFL Draft: The Pick is In”, “WWE: Next Gen,” and more. And the channel houses exclusive partner programming, such as classic boxing matches from top Rank, combat sports form Swerve Sports and poker from PokerGo.
The streamer intends to update and expand the sports-focused channel with new exclusive programming such as NBA G-League games and the Roku Original WNBA documentary “Renee Montgomery: A Radical Act.”
“We continue to see audiences enjoy the familiar, lean-back experience FAST offers, especially with sports,” said Joe Franzetta, head of Sports at Roku Media. “Sports is one of our most popular channel genres on The Roku Channel, which makes us so excited to make it even easier for audiences to jump into Roku’s standout programming.”
In Q2 Roku reported adding 2 million net streaming households for a total of 83.6 million, while streaming hours climbed to reach more than 30 billion in the quarter.
And sports continue to be a draw for viewership and engagement, where FASTs are increasingly getting in on the action. While earlier moves tended to revolve around sports-related content, recent deals – such as Vizio for The Women’s Cup and Roku’s MLB rights – have seen services pick up actual live games and events. But they also continue to lean in to content that’s complementary to live sports, as seen by Roku’s new sports channel. Similarly, Vizio’s Women’s World Cup pop-up channel features related programming such as archival games from previous tournaments, game highlights and interviews.
Other smart TV OEMs, such as Samsung have bolstered FAST lineups with additional sports content. The electronics maker’s Samsung TV Plus service added channels from MLB, the PGA Tour, American Hockey League, One Championship (MMA) and the first-ever Formula 1 racing FAST channel earlier this year.
Roku in particular has been leaning heavily into sports on its platform, leveraging not only its FAST service but also utilizing the CTV home screen to create aggregated content hubs and provide sponsorship opportunities. For example, it has a Roku Sports Experience, where in addition to existing NFL and NBA Zones it recently launched an MLB Zone with T-Mobile as the sponsor. That zone or content hub includes a fully programmed MLB FAST channel and aggregates access to live and upcoming games, nightly recaps and game highlights.
During Q2 earnings Roku said streaming hours originating form the Roku Sports Experience more than tripled year over year.
Sports shift to streaming and distribution on free ad-supported platforms also gives leagues and sporting events a chance to potentially reach younger and new audiences, widening their fan bases with services that consumers don’t need to sign up, login or pay for to access.
“The Women’s Cup aims to reach new audiences and share the power of women’s soccer,” said John Paul Reynal, CEO of The Women’s Cup, in a statement. “We are proud to name Vizio the exclusive viewing destination for the tournament in the U.S. so that millions will be able to enjoy the best talent and competition from around the world.”
With sports attracting viewership and engagement from fans, the programming is also attractive to advertisers – where players like Roku and Vizio could have more opportunity to generate ad dollars from expanding their FAST sports lineups and offering home screen opportunities.
Roku’s Q2 earnings last week reported 11% yoy growth in quarterly platform revenue, which includes advertising on The Roku Channel and reached $824 million in the period. The Roku Channel specifically saw streaming hours increase nearly 75% yoy, as the FAST service remained the No. 3 app on the Roku platform by both reach and engagement. In a letter to shareholders, Roku said the vast majority (more than 70%) of streaming hours on the FAST service originated from home screen features like content rows, live TV and What to Watch, rather than the Roku Channel app tile itself.
Vizio, meanwhile, on Wednesday reported Q2 earnings including 19% revenue growth for its Platform+ business, which totaled $169 million inclusive of advertising on WatchFree+ and home screen ad placements, among other contributors. Active accounts for its SmartCast TV operating system total 18.8 million, with SmartCast hours growing 13% year over year to 5.6 billion in the quarter.
Vizio didn’t hold a typical earnings call with analysts given its pending $2.3 billion acquisition by retail giant Walmart.