Sports streaming is a flourishing industry – and over-the-top (OTT) streaming is the future.
OTT sports streaming lets you broadcast live games from your fans’ favorite teams and leagues. It can help you expand your coaching or team management services. And it builds community engagement at the same time.
Sports streaming provides efficient monetization options, too. You can generate revenue by live streaming special events, sharing live sports games, and offering affordable ways for viewers to get access on a plan that works for them.
Let’s take a look at how over-the-top streaming works and how you can create your own OTT platform to earn more money in less time:
How does over-the-top (OTT) streaming help sports creators?
Over-the-top (OTT) streaming offers videos directly to viewers over the internet. If you’ve used Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube, you’ve used an OTT service and you’re probably familiar with the OTT business model.
These services can offer free or paid access to live streams or recorded videos. This makes OTT streaming a great option for sports-related creators, from coaches and organizations, to leagues that want to televise live sports.
The beauty of OTT sports streaming is that it gives you an expanded audience. Whether you want to reach more people with your valuable coaching expertise, share your sport with more fans around the world, or connect members of your sporting community with each other, an OTT platform makes it easy.
Reaching a larger audience will help you realize your income potential. One-on-one and small-group sessions are great, and they help you really connect with and benefit members of your community. Expanding beyond those sessions will help you maximize your earnings while continuing to be a part of your sporting community.
Streaming is also an effective way to boost your earnings by connecting you with a worldwide community of athletes and fans. If you already have an audience on social media, you can monetize that audience without losing the sense of community generated by a strong social following. For example, Big Picture Skiing went from having lots of followers on YouTube and Instagram to earning over $30,000 every month using our OTT service.
Let’s take a look at six ways you can better monetize your sports business with an OTT platform:
6 ways to monetize sports content with OTT streaming
1. Sports membership community
Members of sports communities love connecting with other sports fans and athletes. A paid membership community provides more value to your audience than connecting over social media – they can watch your videos and discuss them with other members, ask each other questions on progressions and techniques, discuss their favorite sports, and even form local communities.
You can also engage directly with your paying members. Fly With Greg is a great example: members can ask Greg questions via a private chatroom, email, or during live streams. Not only does this let you prioritize access to your paying members, but it also lets you offer more value to your community.
Options for monetizing a membership community:
- Charge for access to a community platform that includes chat, messaging, and other community features
- Offer paid members early access to new video content before you release it on social media
- Distribute free content to members that’s not available to the public
- Answer direct questions from paid members
- Give members exclusive pricing on any of the monetization options listed below
2. Exclusive video content
Social media makes it easy to distribute videos to the world, but making money on social media is hard. Using an OTT sports streaming platform lets you provide exclusive, paid content to your members while still providing a streamlined experience.
The list of video content you might offer is endless. Here are just a few options:
- Basics and foundational skills coaching
- New coaching systems
- Demos of new equipment that you’ve developed
- Exclusive training tips you haven’t shared on social media
- Behind-the-scenes looks at your sports
This exclusive content is a great way to capitalize on coaches’ experience and knowledge in a way that one-on-one and small-group coaching can’t match. Not only does it let you generate revenue more efficiently, but it also lets you offer additional content that’s of value to your members.
For example, In the Lab+ posts game recaps and analyses that help their members learn more than they would by just following along with workouts and drills.
Options for monetizing exclusive content:
- Tiered subscriptions that allow members access to different videos
- Content libraries that paid members can access
- Rental fees for limited-time access to your content
- Bundling access to specific pieces of content
- Pay-per-view fees for one-time viewing
3. Live sports streaming
Streaming live sports is a lucrative business – and you don’t need to have the reach of ESPN, FOX Sports, or other traditional broadcasters to take advantage of live streaming. Broadcasting games to sports fans’ TV screens, whether of popular or more niche sports, is a great way to share your sport with the world and provide value to your audience.
Not only can you share live matches, tournaments, and other fan-favorite events, but you can also live stream special events, product and course launches, event analyses, and more. You could plan a live stream around a popular event like the Olympics, or offer specific training advice based on the competition season that your fans are preparing for.
Options for monetizing live sports streaming:
- Offer an all-access-pass to your sports streaming
- Provide support for pay-per-view for single games or matches
- Sell targeted advertising to other companies
- Use specific memberships to let members follow their preferred teams
- Include highlights and news for free or an extra fee
4. Specialty sports courses
Offering a specialty course lets you share your specialized expertise and sports knowledge – and is a great way to diversify your revenue streams. Whether you typically coach teams, work with individual clients, or focus on e-commerce, specialty courses can give your viewers a competitive edge in a particular sport or build resilience against activity-specific injuries. And that’s worth a lot.
You may not be able to find enough people locally to justify creating a specialty course (especially for niche sports), but an OTT streaming platform lets you recruit members from a worldwide market. Jump Rope Dudes‘ 4-week and 90-day courses are a great example – viewers can choose from a push-up program, a jump rope and dumbbell plan, a 90-day rapid weight loss program, and more.
Options for monetizing specialty sports courses:
- Monthly access to a library of specialty courses
- One-time fees for specific courses or challenges
- Bundling related online courses
- Stream classes in real time or offer recorded videos
5. Expanded one-on-one coaching
As a coach or sports organization, one-on-one coaching is probably one of the services you offer (and if not, it could be something you’re thinking about launching). There’s no better way to help people develop the abilities and fitness they need to succeed in their sport. But it’s also limiting – you can only work with one person at a time.
An OTT platform gives you more time to focus on your individual coaching. Your content library is your friend here: if a client needs something simple, like building explosive strength or foundational skills, you can start them on a pre-built program.
This gives you the time and resources to dedicate to clients with more specialized needs. Maybe it’s injury recovery, or advanced sports skills. Choosing an OTT platform that gives you greater control over memberships and content will help you build a more consistent revenue stream while still letting you do what you do best: engage with athletes one-on-one and sharing your knowledge.
Options for monetizing one-on-one-coaching:
- Using your content library as part of your sales funnel for one-on-one coaching
- Offering course and coaching packages
- Coaching more local athletes while referring remote clients to your courses
6. Member apps
Broadcasters, coaches, and sports organizations all need a professional image to make a good impression on their market. Branded apps look great, drive engagement from your members, and provide a ton of value, no matter what you’re sharing with your audience.
Big Picture Skiing created an app, for example, that lets skiers download instructional videos to watch on the slopes. And they’ve seen that it’s one of the best tools for member retention. This app provides monetization opportunities, fan engagement, and a way to get premium content to a large number of members.
It’s easiest to build an OTT sports streaming app through a platform that offers a no-code app builder – costs are lower, the apps are optimized for media distribution, and they’ll offer you support for the revenue streams you’ll generate. If your chosen platform doesn’t offer branded apps, though, you could build one on your own – just be prepared for a bigger challenge.
Options for monetizing member apps:
- Paid access to live sports during the competitive season
- Exclusive content for sports fans offered in content libraries or streams
- Personalized content delivery for coaches and teams
- Free trials, discounts, or other special offers for non-members
- Offering space to advertisers on your app
Start monetizing your sports content with OTT today
Sports streaming with an OTT platform can be a great addition to your current revenue streams. By providing a premium experience outside of the free content you share on social media, you offer the most value to your audience and save time while generating revenue.
Choosing the right monetization model takes some thought, though. What does your audience want? You can look at successful examples of OTT businesses to get some inspiration, and you can ask yourself these questions:
Are they looking for content they can access on the go? Then an OTT app could be the best way to offer what your members want.
Do they want access to live sports more than anything else? Then live streaming is going to be a high priority for your business.
Does your audience want to be part of a community of sports enthusiasts? In this case, offering community features like live chat and calendars will provide a lot of value.
Are athletes looking to boost their sports ability and fitness? Creating courses and offering coaching is a great way to provide ongoing education that helps athletes.
Once you know what your audience wants, you can choose an OTT platform that offers the benefits they want the most.
Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.
