NPAW: Wimbledon streaming views increase but lack smash
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Editor
| 19 July 2023
Just as the tournament ended in dramatic fashion,Wimbledon 2023 also hit a record for streaming according to data from video analytics and business intelligence provider NPAW but failed to move the needle as much as other top-tier sporting competitions.
NPaW wimbledon 19July2023
Overall, the NPAW data found that the increase in streaming was said to be a testament to sports fans’ shift to online video platforms, with the NPAW customer data showing a “significant” uptick in streaming usage during Wimbledon 2023 compared with last year’s event. Services with streaming rights to the tournament experienced a 1.5 times surge in the number of plays and overall playtime relative to 2022. Meanwhile, the count of unique subscribers grew 26% on a year-over-year basis.

As expected, the classic Men’s Singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic garnered the most attention, with nearly triple the quantity of plays and unique users compared with the daily average throughout the remainder of the championship. The game also served almost five times the total playtime of the rest of the tournament, which is understandable given the match’s duration.

However, despite the improved streaming consumption numbers compared with 2022, comparing the daily average on match days with the daily average over the past 90 days, there was no escalation in streaming consumption KPIs. This said NPAW shows that the tournament does not drastically influence the overall programming agenda for clients during this period, as it caters to a more specific audience.

Assessing device usage, NPAW found set-top boxes (STBs) and TVs were top seeds, accounting for 78% of total streaming playtime (50% STBs and 28% TVs). This implies that the majority of Wimbledon spectators prefer experiencing live matches on their television screens, staying faithful to the traditional viewing experience.

Conversely, smartphones captured just 10% of the action. This said NPW underlined the fact that smartphones, while convenient and portable – and perfect for following an event on the move or when TV access is impractical or already taken – were not the go-to device for most viewers.