NEW YORK—In a notable new analysis of the programming trends that are reshaping the streaming industry, Nielsen’s Gracenote is reporting that sports program offerings across the top five subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services jumped 52% year-over-year (YoY) and that news content on FAST channels was up 58%.
The sharp increase in sports content, which is based on the latest Gracenote Data Hub information, underscores the importance of sports content (live games + related content) to providers’ audience engagement strategies.
In the new analysis, Gracenote found that over the past year, Paramount+ has vaulted past Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to lead in streaming sports programming at the individual game and event level.
Following its acquisition of UFC broadcast rights from ESPN starting in January 2026, the service now delivers more than twice the sports content of any SVOD platform, up 219% YoY. During the same period, the Disney+ sports catalog contracted by 23%.
The new study also highlighted the proliferation of FAST channel, led by news and sports services. Gracenote’s analysis of 2,060 FAST channels available worldwide revealed that sports content on FAST grew 30% YoY. With more than 200 dedicated news channels now available, news programming on free ad-supported streaming services increased 58%. Movies and TV shows available on FAST rose 26% and 24% YoY respectively.
The data comes from the Gracenote Data Hub, which was launched in November 2024. It provides insight into the content available on leading global SVOD services and FAST channels. The resource taps Gracenote Global Video Data, the industry’s most comprehensive database of TV and movie information which powers advanced content search, discovery and recommendations capabilities. Updated quarterly, the Hub’s visualizations reveal how leading SVOD catalogs and FAST channels are evolving over time and what these shifts signal, the company said.
