New York (AFP)

Series and films seemed the only two cards to play in the upcoming war of streaming, but the emergence of live sport, historically marginal on these platforms, could change the game.

So far, Netflix has always refused to invest in this niche, as well as Hulu. Only Amazon was cautiously advancing his pawns (American football, tennis, English football championship), but remained a minor player.

Before launching its Disney + service, the Burbank firm had already shaken up the established order in April 2018 with ESPN +, platform version of its network of sports channels, the most powerful in the world.

As of November 12, Disney will offer a formula that will include Disney +, ESPN + and Hulu for $ 12.99 per month, the price of the standard formula of Netflix in the United States.

And by announcing in late July that live sport would be "an important element" of the new HBO Max platform, the CEO of AT & T telecommunications operator Randall Stephenson also made a name for himself.

Unlike ESPN, which reserves its most valuable content (NFL and NBA) cable and uses ESPN + as a supplement, HBO Max should offer professional basketball (NBA), has even announced the leader.

- Last bastion of the direct -

"Live Sport should definitely help HBO Max," which is due to be launched next spring, says Patrick Rishe, professor of sports economics at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

"Sport is one of the last bastions, perhaps the last, of content that needs to be watched live, and generates the best audiences," he says.

"It's the most valuable content in the media world because it's passionate about people and it's about unique events that can not be duplicated," explained in November 2018. on CNBC John Skipper, former president of ESPN.

In 2018, 43 of the top 50 American television audiences were sporting events.

In sports, as for series and films, there is the question of broadcasting rights, which amount to billions of dollars for the most popular disciplines.

The current generalist platforms have only crumbs at the moment, while young startups specializing in sports, such as DAZN (pronounced "Da Zone"), are positioning themselves for the moment on niche sports, such as boxing.

The parent company of ESPN, but also of ABC, the Disney group has a unique rights portfolio in the world.

WarnerMedia (a subsidiary of AT & T), headquarter of the HBO Max platform, also a heavyweight sports, has already secured the digital broadcast rights of several events, including college basketball, very popular in the United States.

"From now on, for every contract we negotiate, we are also looking to acquire the rights (for streaming) for ESPN +, not just for our historic channels," Bloomberg CEO Jimmy Pitaro told ESPN in May.

- Technical challenges -

If Disney and WarnerMedia intend to integrate a sports offer consistent with their online video service, it is not about to switch all their content on streaming.

Even in decline, the large free channels, with advertising, and cable, with subscriptions, remain, by far, their main source of income.

"What Disney is doing with ESPN will be the norm in the coming years," "a mix of streaming and streaming through traditional channels," says John McGuire, a professor specializing in the intersection of sports and media at the heart of the world. University of Oklahoma State.

The cautious approach of the platforms also has technical reasons: ensuring the online and live broadcast of an event "requires considerable infrastructure" and "the infrastructure is not yet up to standard", explained John Skipper on CNBC.

Some recent failures have confirmed this. Aware of the problem, Disney has not hesitated to spend $ 2.6 billion to take control of technical specialist sports streaming BAMTech Media, from 2017.

But despite these problems, all want to position themselves. To win subscribers, especially for new platforms, but also face the competition, including leagues themselves.

More and more championships and organizations already have their own streaming offer, the best example being the NBA, with its League Pass, available almost anywhere in the world.

"My only certainty," adds John McGuire, "is that for the fan who wants to follow his favorite sport (...) it will continue to be more and more expensive in the years to come."

© 2019 AFP