Streaming services like Stan have shows that air weekly, but live programming hasn’t been much of a thing. But that could change next year with sports.
The world of streaming is getting more competitive, and not just because the content libraries are becoming more diverse. While you can find an assortment of movies and TV shows across a variety of genres, there’s one category that is largely under-represented on the likes of Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, and others: sports.
Sports are typically missing in action because they’re typically aired live, something streaming services don’t usually do. Kayo is one service dedicated to sports, and offers both live and catch-up sports programming, but the other networks known for movies and TV shows haven’t quite jumped onto that yet.
However next year, that appears to be changing, with 2021 seeing Nine’s Stan streaming service launching Stan Sport, an add-on that will see Stan get sports from Rugby Australia, part of an expected three year deal including live sports, starting with Rugby.
“At Stan, we are focused on bringing Australians the best local, international and original programming, which has seen our audience reach significant scale,” said Hugh Marks, CEO of Nine.
“Today’s announcement will see us extend that offering through the launch of our live streaming capability, bringing live sport to Stan in 2021 and opening up a range of new programming opportunities,” she said. “Our partnership with Rugby Australia is the perfect place to start this new business.”
Stan’s jump into streaming Rugby could well just be the start of its sport, though the company hasn’t said much about other sports it could be running through its app.
For now, if you’re into the sports ball, it means there might be something else to look forward to from Australia’s own streaming media darling, pushing away from free-to-air TV even more.