Total Views: 2280
Table of Content
Blog Summary:
Building a sports streaming app like Bally Sports requires securing regional broadcast and streaming rights, as well as delivering a seamless cross-platform user experience with real-time and buffer-free viewing. This in-depth blog dives deep into the costs to develop similar apps with regional content licensing, UX consistency, and tech stack across mobile, web, and smart TV devices.
Table of Content
The Bally Sports app is a live and on-demand sports streaming service designed to deliver regional sports network (RSN) coverage and local college sports, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB).
Initially, it was launched as a linear TV subscription, which means it was dependent on a cable login. However, later it was rebranded as Bally Sports+, which offered standalone streaming subscriptions in certain regions.
Originally, the app was known as the Fox Sports GO app under the Fox Sports network. When the Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the RSNs from Disney, they rebranded them as Bally Sports in 2021. Subsequently, the app was renamed to Bally Sports.
In this comprehensive blog, we’ll discuss how small and large sports businesses can develop a sports streaming app like Bally Sports. As a heads up, the costs can range from USD 80,000 to USD 1,50,000 for an MVP development.
The app strategy was highly focused on delivering localized content. Unlike national platforms such as ESPN+, it didn’t provide national coverage of sports. In 2022, the app began struggling with poor performance and UI issues, and had limited direct-to-consumer access, launching as Bally Sports+.
In 2023, it began facing financial difficulties, prompting it to file for bankruptcy and seek new strategic partners. With FanDuel, Bally Sports shifted its trajectory to become a sports entertainment and betting hub, offering a range of betting and interactive features.
The success of a sports app like Bally Sports is largely driven by its ability to accurately anticipate the direction of regional sports networks (RSNs). Since the preferences of sports viewers change frequently, RSNs must be designed in a way that enables them to maintain viewership and appeal to diverse user demographics.
Bally Sports launched its app with subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services at a time when on-demand entertainment streaming consumption was on the rise. Still, they had higher cable subscription costs than linear TV. With SVOD, it offered a convenient way to stream sports content on a subscription.
If you’re looking to build a sports app similar to Dofu Sports, we have covered the entire process in this comprehensive guide.
Here’s a step-by-step process on how to build a sports streaming app like the Bally Sports app:
Your market research for building such an app should focus on identifying hardcore sports fans, regional team supporters, and regional cable networks for licensing rights. Segment the sports fandom by analyzing regional fan loyalty.
Analyze the user behavior of the subscribers of other sports streaming apps to understand the features they would like to interact with. Then, prioritize them based on the accessibility, reliability, and content engagement they demand.
Aim for native-style experiences with user-selected camera angles, consistent color theming, and synchronized viewing. To achieve this, look for brand awareness and representative content to create a clean and intuitive mobile-first UI/UX design.
A sports app like Bally Sports needs a cloud-native architecture to build a scalable live streaming setup. Utilize content delivery networks (CDNs) to set up the cloud architecture for multiple regions using Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). For personalized targeted ad content, use server-side ad insertion (SSAI).
The next most essential step is to understand the type of content that should be streamed based on the users. It would help in negotiating the license rights with each RSN. Additionally, you would also need to acquire rights for geofence streams based on geographical location agreements.
To develop a sports streaming app for all platforms, you would need to integrate TV Everywhere (TVE) APIs to enable user login using cable provider details. These include implementing services such as Adobe Pass and Synacor. To protect content, your app would also need encryption and digital rights management (DRM).
Before launching, the app must undergo a rigorous testing and deployment process, as it needs to simulate heavy traffic during major events. Hence, you will need to test it for buffer and latency, compatibility with all devices, accuracy of geofencing, and ad blocking.
Once the app is launched, it’s essential to monetize it, as it’s tied to linear TV subscriptions, generating revenue from TV affiliation, ad inventory, and standalone subscriptions. Ensure the app is also compliant with streaming guidelines, user data protection, and accessibility requirements.
Let us help you build a powerful sports streaming and fan engagement app like Bally Sports with regional sports network integration.
Start Building Today
The cost to develop a live streaming app like Bally Sports varies depending on how your business wants to scale it in the future, the app development partner you select, and the scope of content.
Based on the current market rates, we have broken down the estimated costs of building a similar app focused on major sports teams in the US.
The features of building a sports app like Bally Sports depend on the type of app your business is looking to develop. If you are considering basic features like user registration, the costs will be comparatively lower than those of an advanced app with AI analytics.
| Feature | Approx MVP Costs (USD) | Approx. Full-feature app costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Live Streaming | 25,000 – 35,000 | 40,000 – 70,000 |
| Highlights and Replays (Video Library) | 10,000 – 20,000 | 25,000 – 45,000 |
| Real-time stats | 5,000 – 10,000 | 15,000 – 25,000 |
| User profiles | 3,000 – 5,000 | 6,000 – 11,000 |
| Notifications | 8,000 – 12,000 | 14,000 – 22,000 |
| Geo-blocking | 10,000 – 15,000 | 20,000 – 40,000 |
| Ad Monetization | 8,000 – 14,000 | 15,000 – 35,000 |
| CMS Panel | 10,000 – 15,000 | 20,000 – 30,000 |
| TVE Authorizations | 10,000 – 20,000 | 25,000 – 45,000 |
| Analytics | 5,000 – 10,000 | 15,000 – 30,000 |
The costs for streaming regional sports content and licensing depend on negotiations with the teams, region, and leagues. The expenses can increase if you plan to stream live games, along with replays and highlights. Here’s a short breakdown:
| Category of Streaming Content | MVP Estimated Costs (USD) | Full-feature estimated costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Only Men’s Teams (NBA, NHL, MLB) | 4,00,000 – 8,00,000 per league | 3M – 10M per year per team |
| Only Women’s Teams (WNBA, NWSL) | 3,00,000 – 5,00,000 per league | 1M – 3M per year per team |
| Both Men’s and Women’s Teams | 5,00,000 – 10,00,000 per league | 5M – 15M per year per team |
| College sports teams | 1,00,000 – 5,00,000 | 8,50,000 – 1M per year |
| Highlights and replay rights | 30,000 – 80,000 | 1,50,000 – 7,50,000 |
| Geo-blocking license for IPs and Databases | 10,000 – 35,000 | 50,000 – 70,000 |
| Media rights counsel | 20,000 – 40,000 | 60,000 – 1,00,000 |
A Bally Sports-type app requires a scalable cloud infrastructure with a dedicated server for hosting. Hence, the costs for data storage, bandwidth, and managing uptime need investments in robust security and systems that have high availability.
| Elements of Cloud Infrastructure | Estimated MVP Costs (USD) | Estimated Full-featured costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Transcoding and ingesting | 12,000 | 40,000 |
| Content Delivery Network (CDN) for playback | 10,000 | 80,000 |
| Video on demand (VOD) | 5,000 | 20,000 |
| Token access with DRM | 10,000 | 40,000 |
| Ad server | 5,000 | 30,000 |
| App use analytics | 2,000 | 15,000 |
| Cloud maintenance | 8,000 | 20,000 |
The development and design of a Bally Sports-like app needs a well-structured UI and UX to influence high user engagement and retention. Here’s a short breakdown of the most critical things that affect costs:
| Complexity of Design | Estimated MVP Cost (USD) | Estimated Full-featured app costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| UI/UX across mobile/TV/Web | 10,000 | 30,000 |
| Frontend development | 20,000 | 60,000 |
| APIs and Backend | 30,000 | 80,000 |
| Functional and Load Testing | 12,000 | 25,000 |
Apart from the above costs, compliance and legal consultation can add up to USD 40,000 for MVPs and up to USD 1,00,000 for full-featured apps. If you’re planning to build an MVP, here are some ways to lower the costs:
Now that we have provided a detailed estimated cost description from features and UI/UX to development and testing, let’s understand how much time it takes to build such an app.
To illustrate this, we will consider a hypothetical scenario of creating an RSN streaming application for a college sports team in Chicago, such as DePaul, the University of Illinois (UIC), or Northwestern.
| Stage or Feature Development | What it Entails | MVP Timeline (weeks) | Full-featured App Timeline (weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery stage |
|
2 to 3 | 3 to 4 |
| Setting up licensing |
|
3 to 5 | 6 to 8 |
| UI/UX |
|
3 to 4 | 4 to 6 |
| Backend APIs |
|
4 to 6 | 5 to 7 |
| Frontend |
|
6 to 7 | 7 to 8 |
| Video on demand and streaming setup |
|
4 to 6 | 10 to 12 |
| Geo-blocking |
|
2 to 3 | 8 to 10 |
| Admin and CMS |
|
3 to 4 | 4 to 5 |
| App testing and QA |
|
3 to 4 | 5 to 7 |
| Deployment |
|
2 to 3 | 4 to 5 |
| Post launch |
|
Ongoing | Ongoing |
Unite athletes and fans with personalized feeds to keep users engaged and not miss big games moments.
Optimize Your App’s Interface
Securing broadcast and streaming rights is non-negotiable for RSN apps. Bally Sports faced challenges due to RSN fragmentation and delayed digital rights negotiations. Your app must lock down streaming agreements before app development begins. Here are the three factors you should consider:
Bally Sports’ model relies on exclusive agreements with professional and college sports teams, often negotiated through regional sports networks (RSNs) that control market-based rights. Hence, you must define whether you’re licensing:
These rights vary based on gender, league popularity, and region. You’ll also need blackout enforcement infrastructure, legal consultation for using content, exclusivity clauses, and TVE to comply with market limitations and the requirements of cable partners.
Live sports streaming differs from OTT app development because it has high concurrency, as thousands of people watch simultaneously. They also have real-time expectations for no delayed goals or buzzer beaters.
When Bally Sports launched its app, it focused on improving the quality of sports streaming content and buffer speed. It is a strong reminder for businesses to prioritize infrastructure scalability from the outset.
Designing responsive and adaptive user interfaces (UIs) across platforms is crucial for delivering a unified and intuitive experience. Since people have favorite teams and watch history, syncing preferences is also essential.
Ensure that you also optimize navigation for mobile swipe UX and TV remote interfaces, utilizing custom controls, device-specific playback SDKs, and AirPlay for seamless home-viewing experiences.
The technology stack you choose to develop a sports live streaming app, such as Bally Sports, also impacts the development costs. Below is a detailed breakdown of the ideal tech stack for an app focused on Chicago’s college sports teams with RSN integration.
| iOS and Android apps | React Native or Flutter |
|---|---|
| Web apps | React.js with Next.js |
| Smart TV integration | Roku, Samsung Tizen, tvOS |
| Player SDK | Mux player, JWPlayer |
| APIs | Express.js or Nest.js with Fast API |
| Databases | Mongo DB |
| Authentication | Firebase with Auth0 |
| Admin Panel | Strapi |
| Cloud Functions | AWS Lambda and Google Cloud |
|---|---|
| Live Streaming and Transcoding | Wowza and Mux |
| Video library | Glacier with AWS W3 |
| Playback | Cloudflare Stream |
| CDN | Akamai and AWS CloudFront |
| DRM | EZDRM, Widevine |
| Push Notifications | Firebase Cloud Messaging and One Signal |
|---|---|
| Analytics | Mixpanel and Amplitude |
| SSAI | FreeWheel, Google DAI |
| In-app purchases | Stripe, Apple/Google Pay |
| Subscriptions | Recurly and Chargebee |
| Crash reports | Firebase Crashlytics |
| Location and IP Blocking | MaxMind Geo IP2 |
|---|---|
| Blackout logic | Custom logic |
| Legal and Compliance | OneTrust or Cookiebot |
| Feedback | Typeform, Hotjar |
| Video scheduling | AirTable |
| AI/ML Tagging | AWS Rekognition |
At Moon Technolabs, our sports app developers have built similar sports apps, such as BLLR Futbol and BUZZR. These apps have been built keeping in mind the needs of athletes, fans, sports businesses, leagues, and even coaches.
By connecting passionate fans worldwide with a real-time personalized feed, the BUZZR sports social media app has been designed to create a community that gels together by debating sports moments.
Similarly, the BLLR Futbol is a comprehensive soccer training app specifically designed for soccer fans, coaches, and players. It offers an extensive library of video drills, weekly academy sessions, and a built-in social network for all ages and abilities.
With this proven track record, we are well-positioned to develop advanced sports streaming apps like Bally Sports integrated with RSNs.
Connect with Moon Technolabs to book a call and start building your own TODAY.
Sports app development needs solutions that align with the demands of modern sports streaming platforms like Bally Sports, emphasizing the importance of personalization, community engagement, and robust technology.
If you’re a sports organization or a broadcaster in the US seeking a partner to build cutting-edge fantasy sports applications that captivate users and drive engagement, Moon Technolabs stands out as a trusted choice.
Our experience uniquely qualifies us to engage audiences and monetize content in the evolving US sports streaming landscape.
01
02
03
04
Jayanti Katariya is the CEO of Moon Technolabs, a fast-growing IT solutions provider, with 18+ years of experience in the industry. Passionate about developing creative apps from a young age, he pursued an engineering degree to further this interest. Under his leadership, Moon Technolabs has helped numerous brands establish their online presence and he has also launched an invoicing software that assists businesses to streamline their financial operations.
Submitting the form below will ensure a prompt response from us.
We refine our expertise to deliver innovative business solutions.
500 N Michigan Avenue, #600, Chicago IL 60611
13500 Long Is Dr, Pflugerville, TX 78660, USA
C-105, Ganesh Meridian, S.G. Highway, Ahmedabad, GJ 380060
France“ I highly recommend Moon Technolabs as the quality of service is wonderful. We have hired this company to develop the product based on some complex & technical issues. We get the best quality services as compared with others in the market. Huge Thanks to Moon Technolabs as the team is always ready to give the solution all time.”
USA“ Moon Technolabs is a pioneer in the WebRTC based project as they have fixed complicated segments of the module by fulfilling different product lines by providing 24X7 customer support. We really recommended Moon Technolabs as they are able to develop products as per the module deadline and project timeline.”
Germany“I am happy to recommend Moon Technolabs for their app development services. They successfully developed apps for me, and I am highly satisfied with the overall outcomes. The development team has swiftly addressed the issues with responsive and effective communication to understand the requirement quickly and actively resolve the back-and-forth problems that arose...”
USA“Moon Technolabs is the best company that provides advanced apps and websites development services in the USA and Europe. I am a newbie to develop my app with an external team. I am really happy to work with them as I am not that much mobile apps user. Here, the team and specially the CEO of Moon Technolabs helps me to let me know about the benefits of my app to generate revenue....”
