HBO Max leads the sports offering among major streaming platforms, while FAST channels continue accelerating their global expansion.
Sports content has become one of the fastest-growing categories within global SVOD platforms, according to a new report from Gracenote, Nielsen’s content intelligence unit. According to the company’s Q2 2026 analysis, sports now represent 5% of the total programming available across the leading streaming services worldwide.
The latest Gracenote Data Hub update added HBO Max for the first time to its quarterly tracking of Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+.
With its inclusion, HBO Max emerged as the leading sports destination among the analyzed platforms, accounting for 35% of the available sports content and 42% of individual games and events.
Amazon Prime Video followed with 25% of the sports offering, while Netflix accounted for 16% and Disney+ for 14%.
According to Gracenote, there are currently nearly 38,500 sports programs, episodes, matches, and events available across the world’s leading SVOD services.
The genre has seen rapid growth over the last 18 months. In November 2024, sports content represented just 1.4% of the combined catalogs of Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, and Paramount+. Today, excluding HBO Max, that share has already climbed to 3.3%.
The report also noted that, at the level of individual sports matches and events, Paramount+ had led the ranking in Q1 2026, although HBO Max’s addition has now reshaped the competitive landscape.
Gracenote further highlighted that the upcoming acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance could position the merged company as one of the leading global players in sports streaming.
Another key focus of the report was the continued expansion of FAST channels. According to the analysis, the number of FAST channels grew 19% year-over-year during Q2 2026.
Entertainment, sports, news and reality shows were identified as the most prevalent FAST channel genres, with news channels recording the highest annual growth at 57%.
Gracenote also emphasized FAST’s increasing role as a distribution window for live sports, noting that 37% of the content available on FAST sports channels consists of live sporting events.
