Buzzer, a live sports streaming startup, has a plan to sell quick peeks into games and other events for 99 cents.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s upcoming app – which will launch in May or June – will sell “live look-ins” for sporting events and provide alerts for close games and other potentially compelling sports moments. For customers who want more, Buzzer will redirect them to streaming services offering full games.
Buzzer has reportedly already reached deals with the NHL and PGA, and it is looking to secure more agreements with other leagues before its app goes live. The company is also reportedly in talks with cable providers to form affiliate agreements that would allow Buzzer to connect to pay TV streaming apps and let users look in without paying.
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“The fact of the matter is that the live audience is shrinking,” CEO Bo Han told the publication. “We want to make sure that we’re giving access to Gen Z and younger millennial audiences, creating alternative formats that are already in line with their evolving consumption habits.”
Recent data suggests that younger viewers are more interested in sports highlights than watching entire games. According to a survey from Variety Intelligence Platform, fans 18-34 were the most likely to prefer highlights to games – 48% of NFL fans in that age range compared to 54% of NBA fans and 58% of MLB fans.
“This will be a crucial battleground for leagues on two fronts: how to entice viewers to come back to full games and how to better monetize highlights without making them so cost prohibitive that fans give up on watching them and grow more disconnected,” wrote Gavin Bridge, senior media analyst at Variety.
With live sports ratings declining throughout 2020, an app like Buzzer could be a solution to both of those problems.