InterDigital Report Highlights Shift to Streaming in Sports Viewership Amid Technical Challenges

Households are shifting to streaming sports, facing challenges like buffering and video quality, according to a new report.

Quiver AI Summary

A recent report by InterDigital and Parks Associates highlights a significant shift in sports viewership, with an increasing number of households opting for streaming services over traditional pay TV. Currently, 40% of sports viewers exclusively watch through digital platforms, and pure play streaming services contribute nearly 25% of the NFL's broadcast revenue. However, over half of sports viewers experience technical issues like latency and buffering, indicating that streaming infrastructures need improvement. The report notes that younger demographics, particularly under 35, prefer social media for sports consumption and many face challenges related to video quality. Advanced video codecs are suggested as a solution to enhance the viewing experience, which is essential for engaging sports fans in interactive and immersive ways. Overall, the landscape of sports broadcasting is evolving as more viewers embrace streaming, presenting both opportunities and challenges for content providers.

Potential Positives

InterDigital has released a significant report indicating that 40% of sports viewers are now exclusively watching sports via streaming services, highlighting a major shift in consumer behavior that could benefit streaming platforms and companies like InterDigital that support this ecosystem.
The report reveals that sports fans spend an average of $88 per month on streaming services, underscoring the potential for increased revenue in the burgeoning streaming market.
InterDigital's focus on advanced video codecs like HEVC and H.266 positions the company as a leader in addressing the technical challenges faced by sports viewers, which may enhance its reputation and market position in the streaming technology sector.
The study indicates a growing demand for interactive sports viewing experiences, opening new opportunities for technology providers and enhancing the value of InterDigital's innovations in wireless and video technologies.

Potential Negatives

Over half (57%) of sports viewers face significant challenges when streaming sports, including issues like buffering and poor video quality, which could harm the user experience and affect viewership.
Nearly a third (30%) of sports viewers reported not subscribing to a streaming service that aired a sporting event they wanted to watch, indicating potential lost revenue opportunities for streaming providers.
Specific demographic groups, particularly younger viewers, reported even higher rates of technical issues, which may detract from the engagement of a key audience segment in the sports streaming market.

FAQ

What trends are emerging in sports streaming consumption?

Viewers are shifting from traditional pay TV to OTT subscriptions, with many watching sports exclusively on streaming platforms.

How much of the NFL's broadcast revenue comes from streaming services?

Nearly a quarter of the NFL's broadcast revenue is now generated from pure play streaming services.

What challenges do sports viewers face when streaming?

Over half of sports viewers experience technical issues like buffering and poor video quality while streaming live events.

What demographics are prevalent among sports streamers?

Younger viewers, especially those under 35, are more likely to watch sports on social media compared to older demographics.

What solutions are suggested for improving sports streaming quality?

Utilizing advanced video codecs like H.266 (VVC) can enhance streaming quality by reducing buffering and improving video performance.

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.

$IDCC Insider Trading Activity

$IDCC insiders have traded $IDCC stock on the open market 94 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 94 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $IDCC stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

LAWRENCE LIREN CHEN (President and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 39 sales selling 100,000 shares for an estimated $20,832,391.
RICHARD BREZSKI (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 14 sales selling 31,530 shares for an estimated $6,757,299.
STEWART D HUTCHESON has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 8,398 shares for an estimated $1,797,393.
EEVA K. HAKORANTA (Chief Licensing Officer) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 5,150 shares for an estimated $1,121,107.
RAJESH PANKAJ (Chief Technology Officer) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 3,800 shares for an estimated $779,666.
JEAN F RANKIN has made 0 purchases and 9 sales selling 3,285 shares for an estimated $734,622.
JOSHUA D. SCHMIDT (CLO & Corp Secretary) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 2,247 shares for an estimated $496,528.
JOHN D. JR. MARKLEY has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 1,384 shares for an estimated $306,293.
SAMIR ARMALY has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 779 shares for an estimated $176,456.
DEREK K ABERLE has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 692 shares for an estimated $156,676.
JOHN A KRITZMACHER has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 519 shares for an estimated $117,632.

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$IDCC Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 259 institutional investors add shares of $IDCC stock to their portfolio, and 207 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP added 432,691 shares (+418.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $89,458,864
BOSTON PARTNERS removed 405,070 shares (-25.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $83,748,222
GAMMA INVESTING LLC removed 297,892 shares (-99.4%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $66,796,323
NEW VERNON CAPITAL HOLDINGS II LLC added 204,081 shares (+25257.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $42,193,746
FMR LLC added 174,982 shares (+3800.7%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $36,177,528
SHANNON RIVER FUND MANAGEMENT LLC removed 156,643 shares (-41.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $32,385,940
AMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC removed 156,327 shares (-36.8%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $32,320,607

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

Full Release

More households are opting to only have an OTT subscription, scrapping pay TV
40% of sports viewers exclusively watch sports via streaming services
Pure play streaming services account for nearly a quarter of the NFL’s broadcast revenue

WILMINGTON, Del., July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The sports media landscape is shifting, with viewers increasingly turning to streaming via digital platforms, and parting ways with traditional broadcast and cable. But streaming services must deal with technical issues such as latency and buffering, as over half (57%) of sports viewers face challenges when streaming sports. This is according to a new paper released by InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a wireless, video and AI technology research and development company, and research firm Parks Associates. The report, “Streaming Live Sports: Where Opportunity Meets Complexity”, reveals how streaming infrastructure must evolve in line with changing consumer viewing habits, especially with streaming players increasingly paying for sports broadcasting rights.

The paper, titled “Streaming Live Sports: Where Opportunity Meets Complexity,” explores how people consume live sports entertainment, from broadcast to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription models, pay-per-view, and paywall systems. It also covers the pain points viewers are facing and how the streaming ecosystem can keep up with demand.

With streaming subscriptions on the rise and cord cutting continuing, there are distinct viewing habits emerging among different demographics:

42% of US internet households paid for a traditional pay TV service in Q1 2025, down from 62% in Q1 2020.
Over half (55%) of SVOD households subscribe to five or more SVOD services.
Sports fans are among the most valuable viewers, spending an average of $88 per month on streaming services, compared with $64 per month by those who don’t watch sports.
Two-fifths (40%) of sports viewers under 35 watch sports on social media platforms, compared to just 13% of those aged 55+.
More female sports fans than men stream sports exclusively (49% vs 42%).
32% of sports viewers find placing bets in a streaming service attractive (spiking to 57% of sports viewers aged 25-44).

More than half (57%) of sports viewers face challenges when viewing live sports, including nearly a third (30%) highlighting that they did not subscribe to a streaming service airing a sporting event they had planned or wanted to watch. Other more technical challenges that viewers face include buffering and overall image quality. Specific challenges viewers cited include:

Almost one in five (18%) sports viewers reported poor quality video from a streaming service.
Just under a third (31%) of sports viewers aged 18-24 cited poor video quality (freezing, buffering, etc.), insufficient bandwidth for high quality streaming (25%), and lag (20%) as common problems when streaming sports.
Poor video quality is a particular problem for younger age groups who enjoy interactivity while watching sports, such as multi-view and in-game stats.

Poor video quality is increasingly impacting the sports viewing experience, and the paper argues that one solution is more efficient video codecs. For example, HEVC is well-suited for high-resolution content like 4K, where its compression efficiency helps reduce file sizes and improves bandwidth usage. It is also designed to handle the increased data demands of HDR video, which expands the range of colors and contrast in video. H.266 (VVC) is a next-generation solution to these challenges, offering even higher compression efficiency, improved video quality, and support for ultra-high resolutions particularly suited to streaming high-resolution content over mobile networks and broadcasting in ultra-high definition.

“Sports viewers should not have to deal with technical issues when watching their favorite sports teams. The broadcast and streaming ecosystem needs to work together to alleviate pain points or risk damaging their reputation for future events,” said Lionel Oisel, Head of Video Labs, at InterDigital. “While streaming services need to think holistically about the challenges that come with live video streams, more advanced video codecs can significantly reduce buffering and latency and improve the overall user experience.”

“The sports media landscape is transforming, as sports programming transitions from traditional broadcast and cable networks to streaming,” said Michael Goodman, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Sports fans now have more ways than ever to engage with their favorite teams or sports. Many niche sports and out-of-market matches, previously unavailable, are now easily accessible, which can expand the sports audience, and providers have new opportunities to engage viewers in interactive activities, such as multicasts, live chats, and in-game betting, provided the experience is easy and seamless.”

The full report, “Streaming Live Sports: Where Opportunity Meets Complexity,” is available to download here .

About InterDigital®
InterDigital is a global research and development company focused primarily on wireless, video, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and related technologies. We design and develop foundational technologies that enable connected, immersive experiences in a broad range of communications and entertainment products and services. We license our innovations worldwide to companies providing such products and services, including makers of wireless communications devices, consumer electronics, IoT devices, cars and other motor vehicles, and providers of cloud-based services such as video streaming. As a leader in wireless technology, our engineers have designed and developed a wide range of innovations that are used in wireless products and networks, from the earliest digital cellular systems to 5G and today’s most advanced Wi-Fi technologies. We are also a leader in video processing and video encoding/decoding technology, with a significant AI research effort that intersects with both wireless and video technologies.

Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on Nasdaq.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.

For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com .

InterDigital Contact:
Richard Lloyd
Email: [email protected]
+1 (202) 349-1716