With a variety of local streaming services owning exclusive sports rights and several international streamers investing in the genre, Australian SVOD spending on sports is uncharacteristically high. A new report from Ampere Analysis explores why the country’s broadcasting landscape is so unique. In 2023, Australia-based SVODs dedicated 21% of their overall content expenditure to live sports, while the USA allocated 4.3% of their expenditure to the genre. The UK and Canada invested significantly less, with only 2.6% and 1.5% of their SVOD budgets going towards sports, respectively. Local Australian SVODs have acquired the rights to various foreign competitions. For instance, Stan Sport broadcasts the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, as well as the Six Nations. Optus Sport holds the rights to the Premier League, J League, and Women’s Super League.
Time-zone differences affect the live broadcasting of international sports in Australia, as out-of-market events are not aired during prime time. This makes them less suitable for live or linear distribution and more frequently consumed via catch-up services. However, international events remain appealing to Australia’s large migrant population, as census data shows that 31% of Australia’s population were born overseas, with nearly one million people born in England alone (3.6%).
It's not just local Australian services investing in sports content. Paramount+ will stream A-League soccer until 2026, while DAZN holds the rights to Matchroom Boxing events until 2026 and NFL Game Pass International until 2033. Amazon Prime Video will also stream the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup. This willingness to invest in expensive sports rights reflects a strong SVOD market in Australia. According to Ampere, Australia has the third-highest level of SVOD penetration globally, with an average of 3.2 OTT subscriptions per OTT home, trailing only the USA and Norway.
Australia’s relatively weak pay TV sector has also contributed to the growth of SVODs. Pay TV was prevented from operating in the country until 1995 due to government regulations. Furthermore, strict anti-siphoning laws have guaranteed free-to-air (FTA) networks the first refusal for certain premium content, including protected sporting events. This has strengthened FTA broadcasters at the expense of pay TV. Initially, these laws aimed to prevent pay TV operators like Foxtel from securing exclusive broadcasting rights to key events. However, in 2024, the regulation framework was adjusted to incorporate streaming services as well.
Despite these changes, streamers will still be able to acquire exclusive digital rights to protected events, as long as the event is available for free on a linear broadcast. However, the adjustments to the framework may have limited impact on SVODs' short-term sports strategy, as these services tend to be more heavily invested in out-of-market rights than in protected events.
Ed Ludlow, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis analyzed: “Historically, issues such as latency and entrenched relationships between pay TV services and sports leagues restricted the adoption of live sport by online players. However, in Australia, sports streamers have capitalized on a relatively weak pay TV sector and by acquiring popular out-of-market events that are often more easily consumed online than through traditional linear broadcasting.”