Your Favorite Sporting Events Coming to a Couch Near You

Sports are very high on the list of things that can bring people together from coast to coast. Who doesn't love sitting around the couch watching their favorite team or player on the big screen? Are you getting hungry thinking about the nachos, chips and dips and the smell of freshly baked cookies or brownies wafting from the kitchen? Are you excited to hang out with your friends and cheer or cry for your favorite team? 

We all love live sports, and going to games is a treat. But, with today's rising prices (hello, inflation), the at-home experience is becoming more and more favorable. And thanks to today’s advancing home entertainment technologies, we can enjoy more games more often. We'd even argue that watching from home, with crisp streams and cinema-like sound, is better than being at the stadium! At home, you get your comfy couch and your real best buddy (your dog) by your side.

Broadcast networks and streaming platforms are upping their game regarding how they deliver content, including sports. We're seeing a variety of games and sporting events broadcast and streamed in 4K, HDR, and with Dolby Atmos® sound capabilities. These next-generation technologies unlock the possibilities of at-home viewing, especially Dolby Atmos and its three-dimensional immersive surround sound capacity. With a state-of-the-art Platin Audio speaker system, Dolby Atmos creates a sound arena that brings your couch to the sideline. You'll feel like you're right there alongside the players and coaches, head down in the play calls, all without leaving the comfort of your couch. You can always have the best party on the block, whether it be a party of one or for all your friends and family.

Sports in the U.S.

Game days are an experience unlike any other, with an average of more than 154 million U.S. viewers tuning in at least once monthly to a televised sporting event. This number is set to increase over the next several years, likely trending upwards of 160 million monthly viewers by 2024. U.S. women's soccer viewership broke previous records by as much as 300% in 2020! With a growing demand for digital sports content, these viewership numbers will continue increasing.

To better understand sports' grip on the American consumer, let's take a closer look at who is watching, what sports they favor, and how you can improve your viewing experience.

While men have historically outnumbered women when watching sports, female viewers have been tuning in more recently. One 2021 study found that nearly 50% of the female population in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Germany watch at least one sporting event monthly. Female viewers watch more event-driven sports (think Super Bowl or Indy 500) than regularly scheduled events like afternoon MLB games.

On average, male viewers watch 5.8 hours of sporting events per week, compared with women at 2.8 hours a day. The national average of overall TV consumption is around 4 hours per day or 28 hours a week for both genders. So roughly 20% of all TV watching for guys is sports and 10% for women. That's a lot of our couch time!

In the U.S., the most-watched sport is unsurprisingly American football, seen as the favorite by 37% of the nation. Other top-ranked sports for U.S. viewers include basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, and golf.

At-Home Viewing Experience

With the rising trend in sports viewership across leagues and divisions, it's no surprise that consumers are looking for ways to dress up the experience for at-home watching. Technology advances in sports have been slow yet steady. They have trailed behind advances in other entertainment areas, like movies and streaming networks. Advancements in video are significantly ahead of advancements in audio.

In the 2022/2023 season, viewers experienced the entire NFL postseason and Super Bowl LVII in 4K for the first time in history, a historic breakthrough for the Fox network. It's without a doubt that the concept of 4K streaming is becoming more common around the industry and across streaming platforms, too. For example, later this year, on fuboTV, viewers can access Premier League matches, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games, the MLB All-Star game, and, most importantly, the annual Westminster Dog Show in 4K.

Yet, while 4K is starting to make a splash in the sports industry, HDR is still the most dominant technology. Fox broadcasted the FIFA World Cup, college basketball, college football, and select MLB games in HDR, most recently in 2022. Broadcasting with HDR is simpler, for the time being. As noted in a recent Digital Trends article, the investment to upgrade broadcasting equipment to deliver content in 4K is incredibly expensive. And along with the cost of cameras comes the addition of production trucks, heavy cables, operating crews, and more.

The desire to upgrade video quality across the board to 4K is there, and the infrastructure is slowly following suit. But in the meantime, while we anticipate the advance in video…why not enjoy ultra, high-quality audio?

Getting High-Quality Audio in Sports

There's no question that a high-resolution picture is crucial to your at-home, game-watching experience, but some (hopefully most) would argue that audio is even more critical. We applaud those people, and George Lucas would agree!

There's essentially no game without high-quality audio from your favorite sports arena. You wouldn't be able to hear the roaring of the crowd, the referee blowing their whistle, or the swish of the ball as it passes through the net. Luckily, next-level audio technology is on the horizon for sporting events. Bringing this quality to your home has never been easier, thanks to Platin Audio’s suite of state-of-the-art surround sound systems. Unlike 4K streaming that just debuted in the market earlier this year, Dolby Atmos in sports has been around, albeit subtly, for a few years. Several years ago in the Premier League, Dolby Atmos was used in broadcasting a highly anticipated match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC. Since then, Atmos has found its way into some of the world's most highly viewed sporting events like golf, soccer, and baseball.

Dolby Atmos in the NFL and College Football

Regarding regular season games, college football is a bit ahead of the NFL. In the 2022 season, several games were broadcast in Dolby Atmos, such as California vs. Notre Dame, in September 2022. The NFL implemented sound technology advancements for the post-season games. As mentioned, for the first time in history, the NFL playoffs for the 2022/2023 season and Super Bowl LVII were televised in Dolby Atmos. With the move of the NFL’s media headquarters to Culver City, California, audio technology is now in place to produce the highest quality episodes and games for the NFL Network, NFL.com, NFL RedZone, NFL apps, and live games.

Also, some assume that with Amazon taking over Thursday night football, Dolby Atmos will soon be aired in Dolby Atmos. Similarly, the NFL and Google signed a multiyear agreement to make YouTube the exclusive broadcast for the NFL Sunday Ticket. Undoubtedly, the superior technology provided by Dolby Atmos will push NFL and college football broadcasters to switch to new, fully immersive formats. We anticipate continued improvements across the industry through 2023 and beyond. It’s been coming slowly in American Football, but it is coming.

Dolby Atmos in Golf

In September 2020, the U.S. Open Championship was broadcast for the first time in Dolby Atmos. Microphones, capturing “height” sounds, were placed sporadically around the golf course atop camera towers to expand the field of sound and create a more immersive experience. With the sound of wind moving through the trees and planes flying overhead, at-home viewers were able to feel as if they were there, live and in-person, on the course. 

When asked 'Why golf?' Karl Malone, NBC director of sound design, said, "Golf's ambient audio has been its hidden, aural treasure. And that immersive audio has been the key to unlocking much more of it." While most would think there's nothing to hear "in the heights" with golf, Malone disagrees. "In fact, the whole dome of 'room tone' or 'venue tone' is over your head. It opens up that plane. Sounds are more discrete, and it breathes better."

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics also broadcast golf in Dolby Atmos, and we expect the 2024 Paris games to be the same. Now's the time to upgrade your home theater with a Dolby Atmos-compatible system. It's the way of the industry, packed into the broadcast and digital content you're already paying for, so why wait? 

Dolby Atmos in Soccer

For soccer fans looking to watch in Dolby Atmos, it's all about the subscription and streaming platform. A rep for Peacock Premium let fans know the platform is on the cusp of streaming soccer matches in 4K and Dolby Atmos in 2023.

The anticipation of Dolby Atmos in soccer is real. The next-level technology will transform the viewing experience and bring the dynamics on the field to life in your home. You'll hear the roaring of fans from the crowd, the ruffle of grass as cleats tear through, and the loud slam as players drill their laces into the ball headed straight for the net. It's sure to be a game changer, and we're on the edge of our seats to see where Atmos is headed next!

Dolby Atmos in Baseball

The 2023 season got started with players familiarizing themselves with the slew of new game rules. We anticipate networks and streaming platforms to continue looking for ways to up their broadcasts in the new season. The new changes mean this season will likely be one of the most highly watched in recent history, thanks to the highly anticipated rule changes.

In 2022, we saw select Friday night MLB games streamed on Apple TV+, available in Dolby Atmos. We hope to see this trend continue into the new season. "We're ready for it," said MLB executive Glenn Stilwell when asked about the league's plan for upgrading production and sound/video quality for at-home viewers. 

Dolby Atmos in Platin Audio: Get Ready for the Action

The combo of champions is the thrill of your favorite team matched up against their bitter rivals, combined with the power and realism of Dolby Atmos sound. The sports industry is on the verge of a complete transformation with the possibilities of Dolby Atmos, and it's time to get your home theater set up to perform. With Platin Audio, and our new Monaco 5.1.2 with WiSA SoundSend and Dolby Atmos, the possibilities of at-home, game-watching experiences are endless.

Monaco 5.1.2 is sleek yet powerful, perfectly fitting any home theater setup and transforming your space into a proper sound arena. This latest home cinema solution unlocks every detail of today's highly produced content and games to create an unmatched audio experience for the at-home sports fan. Monaco delivers an immersive sound arena with state-of-the-art design and technology that can connect with any modern TV in minutes, so you're not missing any action! Plus, by investing in a Monaco system for your home, you're saving big on the rising costs of entertainment and in-person sporting events. 

Upgrade today, so you're ready for what's to come. It will be big, and you don't want to miss it! Plus, there's more than sports in Dolby Atmos. Sports fans love movies, TV, gaming, and music too, and Dolby Atmos is readily available across these entertainment categories for you to enjoy. Learn more and shop at platinaudio.us.