GAME ON! THE LIVE SPORTS VIEWING HABITS OF CONNECTED CONSUMERS

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1 GAME ON! THE LIVE SPORTS VIEWING HABITS OF CONNECTED CONSUMERS GENERAL SESSION, DECEMBER 12, 2017 Michael Greeson, President and Director of Research 1

2 METHODOLOGY In 2015, Dolby and TDG began a multi-year research endeavor to better understand live sports viewing behavior in the age of multi-device, multi-source, multi-context viewing. Step 1: A series of focus groups spanning two years evaluating live sports viewing behavior and preferences, and testing elements of immersive audio. These insights set the stage for Step 2. Step 2: Quantitative research to assess the devices, sources, and features needed to deliver a next-generation live sports viewing experience, and how new behaviors are impacting (and will impact) live broadcast sports. In July 2017, TDG fielded a survey of U.S. adults years of age that use a residential broadband service. 2,000 ABUs were randomly selected from online panel of several million double opt-in respondents, and completed 16-minute survey. 2

3 FAN SEGMENTS BY PROPORTION OF LIVE SPORTS VIEWERS After reviewing multiple segmentations models, TDG identified four segments of Live Sports Viewers based on their level of fandom across a 15 collegiate and professional sports. SUPER FANS 31% 24% MINOR FANS 21% Live Sports Viewers Viewers (n=1,815) 24% HEAVY FANS MODERATE FANS 3

4 DEVICES USED FOR WATCHING LIVE SPORTS On which of your screens do you watch live televised sports, even if just occasionally? Select all that apply. Fan Segments Minor Moderate Heavy Super Among Live Sports Viewers, n= Home televisions 93% 95% 95% 94% Devices other than a home TV 16% 32% 42% 53% PCs in general 14% 23% 31% 39% Laptop PCs 9% 18% 23% 32% Desktop PCs 6% 10% 14% 16% Smartphones 5% 12% 20% 26% Tablets 3% 8% 14% 26% 4

5 TV OWNERSHIP BY CONNECTIVITY & TYPE Super Fans also top the list across numerous TV-specific categories, reiterating Innovator and Early Adopter Status. Fan Segments Minor Moderate Heavy Super Among LSVs, n= Average # of TVs per Home % with Connected TVs 66% 72% 79% 80% Types of TVs per Home HD 81% 86% 86% 89% Non-HD 24% 19% 18% 14% Basic Digital 11% 9% 9% 7% 4K/UHD 15% 14% 19% 23% 5

6 USE OF EXTERNAL TV SPEAKERS BY FAN SEGMENT USE EXTERNAL SPEAKERS WHILE WATCHING TV Among LSV TV Owners FREQUENCY OF USING EXTERNAL SPEAKERS WHILE All the time All of the WATCHING time Most of the LIVE time SPORTS Occasionally Among LSVs that use external speakers Most of the time Occasionally Yes 30% 42% 43% 52% 38% 33% 27% Super Fans (n=292) No 62% 54% 53% 44% 46% 43% 26% 28% 26% 23% Heavy Fans (n=162) Moderate Fans (n=178) Uncertain 9% 5% 4% 5% Minor Fans Moderate Fans Heavy Fans Super Fans (n=434) (n=428) (n=378) (n=566) 47% 16% 20% 16% Minor Fans (n=128) 6

7 IMPORTANCE OF TV AUDIO QUALITY BY LIVE SPORT AND FAN SEGMENT For each sport you watch live on television, how important is the quality of audio for example, being able to clearly hear the announcer, the referees, or the rise and fall of crowd noise? Top 2 on a 5-point scale Fan Segments Among LSVs that view each sport on television NFL 67% 73% 82% 90% College football 66% 71% 71% 86% NBA 55% 70% 76% 86% MLB 62% 64% 73% 80% College basketball 42% 64% 68% 83% NHL 54% 57% 61% 71% Golf 43% 52% 46% 64% Among LSVs who watch a particular sport live on TV 7 Minor Moderate Heavy Super

8 IMPORTANCE OF AUDIO QUALITY BY DEVICE When watching live televised sports on each of your devices, how important is the quality of audio that is, the clarity of the voices and sounds of the game? Minor Fans Moderate Fans Heavy Fans Super Fans 87% 75% 74% 72% 65% 57% 56% 54% 39% 25% 49% 40% 33% 57% 49% S/S On a home TV On a PC On a tablet On a smartphone Among those using device to watch live sports, top-2 on 7-point scale 8

9 ABOUT THIS STREAMING THING While much is known about live sports viewing habits on television from legacy sources, but little is known about live sports streaming. TV Everywhere SVOD Social Networks Streaming services are in some ways at extension of the traditional/legacy broadcast experience, but in other ways potentially disruptive to this traditional viewing paradigm. 9

10 RELEVANCE OF LIVE SPORTS IN TV EVERYWHERE VIEWING How important were live college and professional sports in your decision to use [these] streaming services? Minor Fans (n=42) 7% 8% Moderately important Extremely important Moderate Fans (n=47) 8% 9% 17% Heavy Fans (n=60) 34% 13% 47% Super Fans (n=174) 25% 42% 67% Among TVE Users by Segment (n= 10

11 USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS TO VIEW LIVE TELEVISED SPORTS Live sports viewing on social networks today has limited familiarity and use but not for long. FAMILIARITY AND USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR LIVE SPORTS USE SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR LIVE SPORTS BY FAN SEGMENT Heard of but not familiar 30% Among LSVs who use social networks (n=1,685) 24% 8% Familiar with but do not use Currently view 3% 4% 7% 15% 39% Never heard of Minor Fans (n=440) Moderate Fans (n=429) Heavy Fans (n=378) Among LSVs who use social networks by segment Super Fans (n=567) 11

12 USE OF SUBSCRIPTION ON-DEMAND STREAMING SERVICES Live Sports Viewers are heavy SVOD users, and use is correlated with fan level with all of the Big-3 services. All LSVs Fan Segments Minor Moderate Heavy Super Netflix 66% 61% 65% 69% 69% Amazon Prime 42% 32% 42% 40% 52% Hulu 28% 24% 26% 29% 31% Do not use an SVOD service 23% 31% 25% 19% 18% Use an SVOD service 77% 69% 75% 81% 82% 12

13 WHY DO SVOD & SOCIAL NETWORKS MATTER HERE? [T]he Amazonian gridiron foray could mark just the earliest days of deep-pocketed technology giants pursuing the TV rights to league deals Variety Reach of both social networks and both Netflix and Amazon is substantial, in most cases much greater than pay-tv operators that currently own the live sports viewing relationship. These apps have found their way to the TV screen, not just mobile devices. And they are bringing with them new features like immersive audio, HDR, and personalized choices. Combine this with very deep pockets and a willingness to use live sports as a loss leader and you have an emerging threat to the established order. Your most valued viewers, Super Fans, are most likely to be impacted, as they have the widest access to and use of social networks & streaming services. 13

14 SO HOW DO BROADCASTERS & OPERATORS RESPOND? It s all about quality of engagement. If you can deliver a truly immersive live sports viewing experience, then tuning to your broadcast is preferred. TDG assessed consumer receptivity to a number of new audio and video live sports features that increase stickiness and generate additional revenue. VIDEO FEATURES 360-DEGREE VIEWING FROM SELECT CAMERAS ABILITY TO CHOOSE THE CAMERA ANGLE BY POINT- OF-VIEW (COURTSIDE, REFEREES OR PLAYERS VIEW) VIRTUAL REALITY-ENHANCED SPORTS OPTION TO WATCH TWO OR MORE LIVE SPORTING EVENTS ON THE SAME SCREEN WITH ADJUSTABLE TILES ON-DEMAND REPLAYS THAT TAKE OVER A SMALL PART OF YOUR SCREEN AUDIO FEATURES 360-DEGREE IMMERSIVE AUDIO THAT PUTS YOU IN THE STADIUM/FIELD ABILITY TO SELECT A FAVORED ANNOUNCER CHOICE OF AUDIO FEED FOR DIFFERENT CAMERA ANGLES (ON THE SIDELINES, IN THE BOXING RING) HEAR THE GAME IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE (LISTENING TO SOUTH AMERICAN SOCCER IN PORTUGUESE OR SPANISH) 14

15 THANK YOU! For more information about this project, or to download either today s presentation on Monday s audio group session, visit TDG s website at Michael P. Greeson President & Director of Research, TDG mg@tdgresearch.com 15

THE ROLE OF AUDIO IN THE SPORTS VIEWING EXPERIENCE AUDIO PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION WORKSHOP DECEMBER 11, 2017

THE ROLE OF AUDIO IN THE SPORTS VIEWING EXPERIENCE AUDIO PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION WORKSHOP DECEMBER 11, 2017 Michael Greeson, President 1 and Director of Research METHODOLOGY In 2015, Dolby and TDG began