STARZPLAY Sports: Everything you need to know
The Streaming Lab - MENA #23
In this week’s issue, I’m reviewing StarzPlay new package: StarzPlay Sports.
Here’s our agenda:
The 13 subscriptions available on StarzPlay
All you need to know about StarzPlay Sports
What are the other Sports packages?
What’s next for StarzPlay?
The 13 subscriptions available on StarzPlay
StarzPlay is a super-aggregator and offers 13 subscription packages:
StarzPlay (AED 39.99/month)
Discovery+ (AED 14.99/month standalone - Also included with the StarzPlay plan)
Da Vinci (Included with the StarzPlay plan)
Majid TV (AED 9.99/month)
Abu Dhabi Sports (AED 14.99/month - UAE only)
bluTV (AED 17.99/month)
UFC Arabia (AED 18.99/month)
StarzPlay Sports (AED 44.99/month)
Golf TV (Included with the StarzPlay Sports plan)
Cricket (AED 24.99/month or also included in the StarzPlay Sports plan)
NBA (AED 47.99/month - billing only)
Rugby (AED 54.99/month)
T20 World Cup pass (AED 99.99 billed once)
Linear & On-Demand content on StarzPlay is categorised with 7 main sections:
Sports
movies
TV Shows
Arabic
Channels
Live
Kids
Registered users can access all sections, no matter the package they subscribed to. But if they don’t have the right plan, the play button will remain locked.
The Live tab is an EPG including 13 Live channels: StarzPlay Sports, AD Sports Premium 1, AD Sports Premium 2, T20 World Cup, CricLife, CricLife 2, Premier Sports, GolfTV, AD Sports 1, AD Sports 2, AD Sports Asia and YAS.
StarzPlay is clearly considering Sports content as a priority. Out of 13 packages available, 7 are about Sports.
All you need to know about StarzPlay Sports
Starzplay launched on August 12 this year a new subscription package called StarzPlay Sports. The plan costs AED 44.99/month and will give users access to the following premium Sports add-ons and channels:
Serie A
The Serie A is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system.
Every match from the Serie A is available with English & Arabic audio on the Live channels Abu Dhabi Sports 1 Premium and Abu Dhabi Sports 2 Premium. All the games will also be available on Catchup.
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the Lega Serie A.
The games are all available on catchup. I assume Abu Dhabi Sports 1 & 2 premium channels will broadcast them Live on StarzPlay.
Golf TV
Subscribers can watch Live & On-Demand golf tournaments all year round on Golf TV.
The Live streaming covers PGA tour, exclusive content from Tiger woods, world class instructions and more.
On-Demand content includes Catchup from several tournaments: Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Open in Hawaii, Farmers Insurance Open, Tiger Wood My Game, PGA Tour Highlights, etc.
Cricket
StarzPlay partnered with e& (Etisalat) to distribute CricLife 1 & CricLife 2 channels: The ultimate destination for cricket in the region covering T20Is, ODIs, Tests and major T20 tournaments. The only place to watch all India, Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies home series, the Pakistan super league and much more.
There are also plenty of games and tournaments available on catchup: South Africa And Australia Tour of India; NZ, Pakistan and Bangladesh T20 Tri Series, England Tour of Pakistan, Men’s Asia cup 2022, Pakistan Super League 2022, Pakistan Cricket Matches and India Cricket matches.
Other sports
StarzPlay Sports is not only about Football, Cricket and Golf. There are much more Sports available on Linear and On-Demand:
Dutch Football league
EuroLeague & EuroCup basketball competitions
All Elite wrestling
World championship Boxing
Extreme E Electric Off Road Racing
Tennis
Beach Volleyball
Fight sports
What are the other Sports packages?
Abu Dhabi Sports
Subscribers can watch AFC tournaments and leagues Live on Abu Dhabi Sports.
UFC Arabia
Subscribers can watch UFC numbered fights and fight nights with UFC Arabia add-on. They can also catch up on previous fights.
Rugby
Subscribers can watch Live rugby all year round on the Rugby channel.
T20 World Cup pass
The T20 World Cup Pass is a one-time only purchase to watch the entire tournament.
What’s next for StarzPlay?
Implement features specifically designed for Sports content
For now, the only options available on mobile and web players are Player Quality (Auto, Best, Better or Good) and Audio & Subtitles with English & Arabic on selected channels and On-Demand content.
We could expect more features from a streaming service focused on sports. For example, a “smart” player displaying lineup, team stats, top players, commentary with highlights, alternate timeline, highlights mode on mobile (watch the full match or a short, medium or long version), etc.
Simplify categorisation
It was a little bit confusing to navigate between the content that is part of my subscriptions and the content that I don’t have access to.
For example, if I access the Serie A content corner from the subscription tab, I can see 6 channels available, but only 2 include Serie A. The others are about Basketball or Westling, or are not even included in my subscription (CricLife Max).
Same if I click on Coppa Italia or Cricket packages that are supposed to be active: I’ll see a mix of content I can watch or requires an additional subscription.
Leverage Ad-Supported models
If I decide to subscribe to all sports content available on StarzPlay, I’ll have to pay a Monthly subscription close to AED200 = USD55. Creating an ad-supported model and offer Sports content at a cheaper price could help StarzPlay get more users.
I would not be surprised if the SVOD service becomes hybrid with an Ad-supported tier very soon.
Innovate with Streaming To Theatre
I’m convinced OTT Sports is the best way to engage fans. Not only when they watch content at home, but also with a shared viewing experience.
Now, some platform providers can offer streaming technology to power Live & VOD events to theaters. The possibilities are endless for StarzPlay:
Watch your next UFC event at VOX cinemas
Survive a six hour long Cricket game at muvi Cinemas
Follow the next Serie A match at REEL cinemas
Would you go to the cinema to watch a Live Sports event?
That’s all for today, my review of STARZPLAY Sports plan.
See you online next week. Until then, watch Torino VS Milan live on StarzPlay tomorrow October 30, 10:45pm KSA time.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you with:
If you want to learn more about OTT in MENA, I’d recommend starting with my market report:
→ The local OTT ecosystem in MENA: Learn everything about the local streaming services in the region. Get full access here.
License premium FAST & On Demand content on TVToday.
Hire top streaming experts for short-term assignments on OTTpro.