Strategic Intelligence: Media in Sport 2025
Summary
An analysis of the media in sport sector provides a detailed, et easy to follow overview of the media in sport sector, including a look at the key leaders of the media piracy in sport value chain.
The sports media market is growing rapidly
The Sports media market is experiencing significant growth, particularly in the realm of media rights. According to forecasts, the global sports media rights market was projected to reach almost $60 billion by the end of 2024. This represents a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% from 2020 to 2024. The market is anticipated to continue its growth as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic, with attendance levels expected to return to pre-pandemic figures, which further enhances the value of media rights. The emergence of over-the-top (OTT) platforms, such as Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, is transforming the broadcasting landscape. Traditional cable and satellite TV broadcasters have historically dominated this market, but the increasing popularity of these new platforms is driving competition and innovation. The sports media market is poised for substantial growth driven by increased viewership, the expansion of media platforms, and a focus on international audiences. However, stakeholders must remain cautious about potential challenges that could impact the sustainability of this growth.
Streaming platforms are changing the live sports experience
Video streaming has revolutionized the way sports fans consume live sport. Users are no longer confined to accessing content solely through a television or computer, they can now watch their favorite team on any internet-connected device, including smartphones and tablets.
Streaming services employ AI-powered recommendation engines that analyze user preferences to suggest programs aligned with the viewer's past interests and viewing habits. These advanced interfaces also provide versatile search capabilities for sports fans.
Traditional TV still has a big part to play in sports media
Research conducted by the Hub Entertainment Research discovered that Americans still feel traditional broadcast TV, remains the better broadcaster of live sports over any of the streaming services that are engaged in sports media.
In the UK, the ‘crown jewel’ scheme which ensures many major sporting events including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and FA Cup Final are broadcasted on free-to-air channels, continues to play an important role in ensuring that major are readily available to a big domestic audience.
Leaders in the media in sport market
Amazon, Sky, ESPN, Fox, Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery are among the biggest media companies operating within the sport industry. All these companies are constantly under pressure to reduce content spend, retain customers, and increase profitability.
Scope
- This report provides an overview of media in sport sector, including the key leaders, a look at some of key trends, an analysis of the industry in terms of market size and growth forecasts, and also a in-depth analysis of the media in sport value chain and its key players.
- For those wanting an in-depth analysis of the media in sport sector, in the sense of both business and popularity.
- Executive Summary
- Players
- Thematic Briefing
- The rise of streaming platforms is changing sports consumption
- Traditional TV broadcasting
- Video streaming
- Video streaming provides sport properties with improved features
- Trends
- Technology and macroeconomic trends
- Regulatory trends
- Industry Analysis
- Market size and growth forecasts
- Asia Pacific leads the global SVoD market by subscribers
- Content spend
- US TV viewership
- Timeline
- Value Chain
- Media companies
- Sky
- Fox
- Apple
- Sports leagues
- NFL
- Premier League
- IPL
- Sports teams
- Real Madrid
- Liverpool
- Companies
- Sector Scorecard
- Who’s who
- Thematic screen
- Glossary
- Further Reading
- GlobalData reports
- Our Thematic Research Methodology
- About GlobalData
- Contact Us
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Technology and macroeconomic trends
- Table 2: Regulatory trends
- Table 3: Companies
- Table 4: Glossary
- Table 5: GlobalData reports
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Who are the leading players in the media in sport theme, and where do they sit in the value chain?
- Figure 2: Preferred locations for watching streaming content
- Figure 3: Preferred new features for streaming platforms
- Figure 4: Satellite TV broadcasting, like terrestrial and cable TV broadcasting, is linear
- Figure 5: Video streaming is non-linear
- Figure 6: Primary device for watching live sports
- Figure 7: Sports watching preferences
- Figure 8: What are the main differences between traditional TV and video streaming?
- Figure 9: SVoD will generate $177 billion in revenue by 2030
- Figure 10: SVoD platforms will account for more than 1.9 billion subscribers by 2030
- Figure 11: SVoD subscribers are growing rapidly, followed by IPTV
- Figure 12: SVoD subscriptions are on the rise globally
- Figure 13: Video streaming companies are spending billions of dollars every year on content
- Figure 14: Streaming has the largest share of US TV viewership
- Figure 15: The sports media story
- Figure 16: The media in sport value chain
- Figure 17: Who does what in the sporting federations space?
- Figure 18: Thematic screen
- Figure 19: Our five-step approach for generating a sector scorecard
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