Multiplatform national sports network Stadium has made a sizable push into connected TV following distribution deals in recent months with Sling TV, Sony PlayStation Vue and Xumo among others.
The network, created in 2017 by the merging of 120 Sports, Silver Chalice’s Campus Insider and the Sinclair Broadcast Group’s American Sports Network, debuted with an original distribution focus on over-the-air linear TV, its own digital online and mobile distribution, and a small collection of key social partners such as Twitter.
But as cord cutting has accelerated and over-the-top carriers have grown in prominence, Stadium has expanded its focus to incorporate a variety of connected TV providers, and the more lean-back nature of those platforms. Other distributors in the category carrying Stadium include Fubo TV, Pluto TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus and Stirr. The distribution deals have incorporated a mix of revenue-sharing agreements and those with minimum guarantees and more traditional carriage fees.
The Sling TV deal, struck last month, gave the programmer a presence on one of the most prominent virtual MVPDs in the industry. Sling TV ended 2018 with 2.42 million subscribers, and Stadium is the only national sports network carried on Sling TV’s entry-level Orange and Blue packages.
Collectively, the connected TV platforms now represent a third of Stadium’s total viewership, and company executives predict it could soon represent a majority.
“The connected TV platforms fit squarely in our vision,” said Jason Coyle, Stadium chief executive. “Our original goal was to create a cable-quality network but with eyes wide open about the changes in the media landscape. And what we’ve seen in this category is clearly testament to that.”
In addition to the increase in distribution for Stadium, the connected TV platforms present a meaningful advertising opportunity. Ads on those platforms are rising dramatically due to the ability for user targeting and dynamic insertion. And the digital nature of the technology allows the network to bid on real-time ad exchanges and gain last-minute sales, particularly around games that have suddenly grown in importance.
