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Sports streaming subscription platform DAZN has been named as the producer of the world’s top revenue-generating sports app, according to a study from Sensor Tower.
The State of Sports Apps Report from the mobile app marketing intelligence company placed DAZN top of its rankings for the first half of 2019, up one place on last year.
Disney-owned sports media company ESPN saw its app rise five places to come second on the list. Last year’s number one, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) At Bat app, dropped to third. The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) official app was fourth, while onX Hunt, the GPS hunting app, placed fifth. Both fell a position apiece on 2018.
Other notable official apps in the top ten included the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Eurosport Player and the National Hockley League (NHL).
DAZN’s position on top of the pile follows an earlier study released in June by Sensor Tower that showed its app had achieved 950% year-on-year revenue growth, making it the world’s top-grossing sports app in May. For that month, the app brought in almost US$11.5 million in revenue – more than nine times its income for May 2018.
DAZN has been boosted by setting new streaming records, including for its Italian service during the Milan derby between Serie rival Inter and AC, and securing high-profile events, notably the boxing bout between YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul.
Sensor Tower’s report, which studied worldwide revenue trends in the sector from Q1 2016 to Q2 2019, also found that net revenue growth accelerated in 2017 and 2018, and growth remained strong into 2019. Overall, sports apps will look to surpass US$100 million in net revenue in Q3 2019.
It also found that Google Play Sports app revenue grew faster than that of rival Apple’s App Store. Sports app revenue on Google Play nearly doubled year-over-year to US$23.7 million in Q2 2019.
Despite this, the App Store still represented 74 per cent of sports app revenue between the two stores in the quarter. In addition, App Store sports app revenue grew 70 per cent between 2017 and 2018. According to Sensor Tower, this is expected to slow to 23 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, with net revenue reaching US$520 million by 2023. Net revenue is set to surpass US$250 million in 2019, with sports apps having grossed nearly US$125 million in the first half of the year.
Sports app revenue on Google Play is expected to have a similar CAGR as the App Store at 22 per cent to US$151 million by 2023. However, according to the report, this reflects lower revenue growth per download given higher forecasted download growth for Google Play than the App Store.
Overall, Google Play sports app revenue is projected to grow 45 per cent year-on-year in 2019. This is less than the 78 per cent year-on-year growth seen in 2018.
The OTT mobile platform beats ESPN as the highest earning app for the first half of 2019.
Sports streaming subscription platform DAZN has been named as the producer of the world’s top revenue-generating sports app, according to a study from Sensor Tower.
The State of Sports Apps Report from the mobile app marketing intelligence company placed DAZN top of its rankings for the first half of 2019, up one place on last year.
Disney-owned sports media company ESPN saw its app rise five places to come second on the list. Last year’s number one, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) At Bat app, dropped to third. The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) official app was fourth, while onX Hunt, the GPS hunting app, placed fifth. Both fell a position apiece on 2018.
Other notable official apps in the top ten included the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Eurosport Player and the National Hockley League (NHL).
DAZN’s position on top of the pile follows an earlier study released in June by Sensor Tower that showed its app had achieved 950% year-on-year revenue growth, making it the world’s top-grossing sports app in May. For that month, the app brought in almost US$11.5 million in revenue – more than nine times its income for May 2018.
DAZN has been boosted by setting new streaming records, including for its Italian service during the Milan derby between Serie rival Inter and AC, and securing high-profile events, notably the boxing bout between YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul.
Sensor Tower’s report, which studied worldwide revenue trends in the sector from Q1 2016 to Q2 2019, also found that net revenue growth accelerated in 2017 and 2018, and growth remained strong into 2019. Overall, sports apps will look to surpass US$100 million in net revenue in Q3 2019.
It also found that Google Play Sports app revenue grew faster than that of rival Apple’s App Store. Sports app revenue on Google Play nearly doubled year-over-year to US$23.7 million in Q2 2019.
Despite this, the App Store still represented 74 per cent of sports app revenue between the two stores in the quarter. In addition, App Store sports app revenue grew 70 per cent between 2017 and 2018. According to Sensor Tower, this is expected to slow to 23 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, with net revenue reaching US$520 million by 2023. Net revenue is set to surpass US$250 million in 2019, with sports apps having grossed nearly US$125 million in the first half of the year.
Sports app revenue on Google Play is expected to have a similar CAGR as the App Store at 22 per cent to US$151 million by 2023. However, according to the report, this reflects lower revenue growth per download given higher forecasted download growth for Google Play than the App Store.
Overall, Google Play sports app revenue is projected to grow 45 per cent year-on-year in 2019. This is less than the 78 per cent year-on-year growth seen in 2018.
