The trend: Live sports events are generating spikes in app downloads, engagement, and users for streaming platforms.

• Peacock’s highest peak in daily active users (DAU) so far this year was the Super Bowl in February, per Sensor Tower data.
• Paramount+ had its largest DAU jump in June with the UFC Freedom 250 Match.
• Fox One, which is airing the FIFA World Cup games in English, had a DAU surge of over 1,900% between June 7 and June 14 as the tournament started June 11.
• Apple TV, albeit the smallest of the pack by subscriber numbers, experienced its biggest DAU increase at the start of Formula One season in March. Each race weekend shows notable blips.

DAU growth is also supported by platforms capitalizing on their specific audience personas. For example, while Peacock has nearly equal parts sports fans and cord cutters, with a smaller group of gamblers, Apple TV has a unique and closely matched audience of sports fans, cord cutters, and moviegoers.

What this means: The data reinforces live sports’ status as a media environment that can generate massive simultaneous audiences, high consumer attention, and proven user acquisition opportunities.

Live sports’ popularity also illustrates how streaming wars are shifting from building title libraries to owning fleeting content moments.

• These events can generate engagement in the weeks or months surrounding the big moment, offering advertising opportunities over an extended period of time.
• Exclusive live programming is also often time-sensitive, and that scarcity could drive new subscribers.

However, not all live content is equally valuable—the largest DAU gains come when programming is aligned with a platform’s core audience.

• Peacock’s Super Bowl, Apple TV’s F1, and Fox One’s World Cup showings are all driving significant DAU surges.
• Meanwhile, Netflix’s Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano UFC Fight drew only a negligible DAU increase, suggesting that simply adding live programming isn’t enough if an audience isn’t interested in sporting events.

Recommendations for marketers: Live sports offer a valuable opportunity for both brand-building and performance-oriented campaigns, with streaming services gaining first-party, in-the-moment subscriber data and marketers getting access to high-intent inventory.

• Pair creative with platforms that have audience personas matching brand and product identity to maximize reach and engagement.
• Capitalize on smaller, recurring events like F1 races or UFC fights, which may contain less cluttered ad environments than events like the Super Bowl or World Cup.
• Explore activations for second-screen users, such as event-themed social media ads.