The streaming landscape shifted significantly over the past year, and new data from Gracenote, the content intelligence business unit of Nielsen, puts hard numbers on exactly how much. Sports programming across the top 5 subscription video-on-demand services jumped 52% year-over-year, with Paramount+ emerging as the clear leader after its acquisition of UFC broadcast rights from ESPN starting January 2026 pushed its sports catalog up 219% year-over-year, more than double any other SVOD platform. Disney+ moved in the opposite direction, contracting 23% over the same period.
The growth extends well beyond subscription services. Gracenote’s analysis of 2,060 FAST channels available worldwide found sports content on free ad-supported streaming up 30% year-over-year, while news programming on those same platforms surged 58%, driven by more than 200 dedicated news channels now available globally. Movies and TV shows on FAST rose 26% and 24% respectively, reflecting a broad expansion of no-cost, no-commitment streaming content across every major category.