Direct-to-Consumer Sports Programming Set to Boom, nScreenAnalyst Says

By year's end, selling sports by the season directly to consumers will be common, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Wednesday. Live premium sports viewing online is small, but growing quickly, with virtual MVPDs sure to fuel the trend, he said. The NFL rating declines seen by CBS and NBC might be attributable to more people watching online, he said. It doesn't appear that, at least in the short term, finding a particular game will be any easier online than via traditional TV, since sports league rights aren't only often divided across different services but also among screens, he said.