Sports rights owners spoilt for choice as streaming platforms multiply

Rights owners can choose multiple routes to market for live content but the old geographically based distinctions are an illusion in the streaming space. VPN's and pirate activity make distribution global in reality whatever the rights contracts might say. For most sports once the 4 or 5 core markets are covered ROW is just bunce.

Opening up a new market from a technical perspective for a streaming provider is just a matter of adjusting the IP address range in the data base and ensuring that the CDN provider has a point of presence in country. The marketing is a different matter but Google and Facebook have the global footprint. 

Distribution options for live video include YouTube, FaceBook, HotStar, DAZN, 11 Sports, ESPN Plus, B/R Live, ROKU, Hulu and many others.

The impact of this on the economic models is yet to be fully understood. YouTube will be tough to beat in my view but at this point before the online subscription model for live sport is proven, it is anybody's guess.