A major report has found “notable improvements” in live sports streaming performance across three major events in 2024: Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, and the Paralympic Games.
The Digital TV Group (DTG) examined device performance, latency, and accessibility features, compared with 2023 live events of IP-delivered live sports content.
However, while the report highlights significant progress, it also reveals ongoing disparities, with some well-known branded devices still experiencing delays of more than a minute.
The Average latency for BBC iPlayer improved significantly from last year’s Coronation coverage (55.9 seconds) to 40 seconds during the 2024 Olympics, a 15.9-second improvement.
Sky Glass exhibited the lowest latency among IP streaming platforms, leading across all three events.
Premium brand Smart TVs showed some of the highest delays, with certain devices exceeding one minute of lag. Notably, the worst-performing device on one PSB stream was one of the best on the other, highlighting the need to address inconsistencies.
“This analysis underscores the progress we’re seeing in reducing latency for live sports streaming, bringing the viewer experience closer in line with traditional broadcast standards,” said Ranjeet Kaur, Programme Director at DTG. “While our findings show clear improvements, particularly with platforms like Sky Glass and console-based streaming, there’s still work to be done to ensure consistent performance across all devices and services. With the growing demand for seamless, real-time access to live events, the industry must continue to focus on reducing delays and enhancing accessibility features.”
Android devices had the highest latency, with delays approaching one minute in some cases.
Console-based streaming demonstrated the greatest improvement, with a latency reduction of over 34 seconds compared to 2023.
Broadcast Consistently Outperformed IP Streaming with traditional broadcast methods (DVB-T2, DVB-S2) maintained the lowest delays, consistently outperforming IP streaming services across all tests.
Inconsistencies were also found among accessibility services; subtitles were generally accurate across both broadcast and streaming platforms, but some devices experienced issues with enabling subtitles during live streams. The Channel 4 app showed notable inconsistencies across the devices on test, with some lacking options for live TV.
