Sports broadcasting’s bidding wars are driving costs to unprecedented levels, pushing streamers and broadcasters to explore sports-adjacent content and digital-first strategies where online creators are becoming central to engaging audiences beyond traditional live events.

The sports broadcasting landscape continues its relentless fragmentation, with streamers and traditional broadcasters engaging in unprecedented bidding wars that are reshaping how audiences consume sporting content. Yet alongside this expensive scramble for live rights, a parallel revolution is emerging in sports-adjacent programming, where digital creators are increasingly central to the industry’s evolution.

Recent months have witnessed a succession of record-breaking deals. In August, Skydance Media announced a US$7.7bn seven-year agreement for exclusive US rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2026, reportedly double ESPN’s current payment. Days earlier, Disney secured US$1.6bn for World Wrestling Entertainment’s premium events over five years, compared to Peacock’s current US$900m contract. October brought news of Apple’s first major sports deal, paying US$750m over five years for Formula 1 US broadcast rights from 2026, nearly tenfold ESPN’s previous US$80m annual fee.

The competitive landscape has intensified further in Europe, where Paramount reportedly offered over £1bn to TNT Sports’ current amount for UEFA Champions League UK rights from 2027. Meanwhile, Warner Bros Discovery’s potential sale has created additional uncertainty, with Netflix and Paramount engaged in a bidding war for the company, which holds significant sports assets including Olympic Games rights in Europe.

After years avoiding expensive live sports, Netflix has accelerated its entry into the sector, playing catch-up with Amazon Prime Video’s established portfolio. Netflix’s deals include a three-season arrangement for Christmas Day NFL games, FIFA Women’s World Cup rights for 2027 and 2031, and a 10-year, US$5bn WWE agreement launched in early 2025. The Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson boxing exhibition became “the most streamed sporting event in history when over 108 million viewers tuned in” on November 15 last year, says Netflix.

According to Yassine Guillaume Berhoun, director of sport at industry analyst Glance, SVoD platforms have recognised that live sport “is a very strong asset when you need to attract people to subscribe to your offers”. Glance’s Yearly Sport Key Facts 2025 report confirms this appetite remains insatiable, with Super Bowl LIX achieving an all-time record 126.7 million viewers and 100% market share on Fox in the US between September 2024 and August 2025.

However, soaring rights costs create significant challenges for broadcasters operating with relatively static budgets. “When you have the top tier property that you want to retain, such as the Champions League for instance, you need to increase your budget dedicated to Champions League and then you have less budget for other properties,” explains Berhoun, who warns that “second and third tier” sports properties are increasingly vulnerable.

The unpredictability of live sports presents additional risks, as Netflix discovered when its planned Jake Paul versus Gervonta Davis boxing match was cancelled due to legal proceedings, incurring undisclosed but likely substantial costs.

These pressures are driving broadcasters and streamers towards sports documentaries and adjacent programming. Berhoun notes this trend accelerated during the Covid pandemic when live sport halted. “That’s when lots of people realised, okay, so if we don’t have live sport, what can we use? We can use maybe documentaries or re-air some old historical matches or games,” he says.

Netflix’s Drive to Survive has proved particularly influential since its 2019 premiere, becoming the platform’s best-performing sports documentary whilst opening Formula 1 to new audiences. According to Parrot Analytics, the series delivered over US$290m in global streaming revenue from 2020 to 2024. Disney+’s Welcome to Wrexham has similarly succeeded, with a fifth season announced and the series sparking ‘Wrex-mania’ regarding the Welsh town.

Netflix has tried to repeat the formula with golf-themed Full Swing; Tour De France: Unchained; Six Nations: Full Contact; and Breaking Point, about the world of tennis. Rival streamer Amazon Prime Video, in return, screens ice hockey documentary Faceoff: Inside the NHL, among other sports-adjacent titles.

Rick Murray, CEO of Banijay-owned Workerbee and senior advisor on global strategy for sports at Banijay, sees expansive possibilities. “Sport can be any TV genre, scripted, unscripted, entertainment, live, digital chat show, quiz show, comedy show… so I don’t see it so much as a genre, as a universe of content,” he says. Banijay has identified “five pillars” of growth: sportainment, docuseries, live, digital and scripted content.

Digital content represents a particularly significant focus. Workerbee recently partnered with sports marketing agency YRDS to develop both docuseries and digital projects. “YouTube is bigger than ever and starting to eclipse everyone else in the content game, so as a company, one thing we need to look at is digital,” states Murray.

Banijay’s launch of FC Failliet/Finesse in the Netherlands exemplifies this digital-first approach. The KNVB-registered football club, built around digital creators who collectively reach more viewers than all Eerste Divisie clubs combined, delivers live events alongside daily TikTok and Instagram updates and weekly YouTube vlogs.

Dazn is similarly integrating creators into its coverage, recently inviting content creator Brandon Smith to join its Club World Cup commentary team, generating 900,000 impressions and 9,000 engagements on Instagram from one clip. During El Clásico, 40% of users participated in Dazn’s interactive fanzone, producing 1.7 million engagements.

“Live sport is now going from a single broadcast nowadays to a multi-layer ecosystem,” commented Chrissie Hoolahan, senior director of content and creator partnerships at Dazn, at Content London.

Looking ahead, Berhoun maintains cautious optimism. “I don’t know if the future will be as bright as it has been, when sports rights were selling for higher and higher [amounts], but it’ll still have a positive outlook,” he says, noting emerging opportunities in women’s sports and alternative programming formats that offer broadcasters more affordable entry points into sports content.

Sports broadcasting’s bidding wars are driving costs to unprecedented levels, pushing streamers and broadcasters to explore sports-adjacent content and digital-first strategies where online creators are becoming central to engaging audiences beyond traditional live events.

The sports broadcasting landscape continues its relentless fragmentation, with streamers and traditional broadcasters engaging in unprecedented bidding wars that are reshaping how audiences consume sporting content. Yet alongside this expensive scramble for live rights, a parallel revolution is emerging in sports-adjacent programming, where digital creators are increasingly central to the industry’s evolution.

Recent months have witnessed a succession of record-breaking deals. In August, Skydance Media announced a US$7.7bn seven-year agreement for exclusive US rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2026, reportedly double ESPN’s current payment. Days earlier, Disney secured US$1.6bn for World Wrestling Entertainment’s premium events over five years, compared to Peacock’s current US$900m contract. October brought news of Apple’s first major sports deal, paying US$750m over five years for Formula 1 US broadcast rights from 2026, nearly tenfold ESPN’s previous US$80m annual fee.

The competitive landscape has intensified further in Europe, where Paramount reportedly offered over £1bn to TNT Sports’ current amount for UEFA Champions League UK rights from 2027. Meanwhile, Warner Bros Discovery’s potential sale has created additional uncertainty, with Netflix and Paramount engaged in a bidding war for the company, which holds significant sports assets including Olympic Games rights in Europe.

After years avoiding expensive live sports, Netflix has accelerated its entry into the sector, playing catch-up with Amazon Prime Video’s established portfolio. Netflix’s deals include a three-season arrangement for Christmas Day NFL games, FIFA Women’s World Cup rights for 2027 and 2031, and a 10-year, US$5bn WWE agreement launched in early 2025. The Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson boxing exhibition became “the most streamed sporting event in history when over 108 million viewers tuned in” on November 15 last year, says Netflix.

According to Yassine Guillaume Berhoun, director of sport at industry analyst Glance, SVoD platforms have recognised that live sport “is a very strong asset when you need to attract people to subscribe to your offers”. Glance’s Yearly Sport Key Facts 2025 report confirms this appetite remains insatiable, with Super Bowl LIX achieving an all-time record 126.7 million viewers and 100% market share on Fox in the US between September 2024 and August 2025.

However, soaring rights costs create significant challenges for broadcasters operating with relatively static budgets. “When you have the top tier property that you want to retain, such as the Champions League for instance, you need to increase your budget dedicated to Champions League and then you have less budget for other properties,” explains Berhoun, who warns that “second and third tier” sports properties are increasingly vulnerable.

The unpredictability of live sports presents additional risks, as Netflix discovered when its planned Jake Paul versus Gervonta Davis boxing match was cancelled due to legal proceedings, incurring undisclosed but likely substantial costs.

These pressures are driving broadcasters and streamers towards sports documentaries and adjacent programming. Berhoun notes this trend accelerated during the Covid pandemic when live sport halted. “That’s when lots of people realised, okay, so if we don’t have live sport, what can we use? We can use maybe documentaries or re-air some old historical matches or games,” he says.

Netflix’s Drive to Survive has proved particularly influential since its 2019 premiere, becoming the platform’s best-performing sports documentary whilst opening Formula 1 to new audiences. According to Parrot Analytics, the series delivered over US$290m in global streaming revenue from 2020 to 2024. Disney+’s Welcome to Wrexham has similarly succeeded, with a fifth season announced and the series sparking ‘Wrex-mania’ regarding the Welsh town.

Netflix has tried to repeat the formula with golf-themed Full Swing; Tour De France: Unchained; Six Nations: Full Contact; and Breaking Point, about the world of tennis. Rival streamer Amazon Prime Video, in return, screens ice hockey documentary Faceoff: Inside the NHL, among other sports-adjacent titles.

Rick Murray, CEO of Banijay-owned Workerbee and senior advisor on global strategy for sports at Banijay, sees expansive possibilities. “Sport can be any TV genre, scripted, unscripted, entertainment, live, digital chat show, quiz show, comedy show… so I don’t see it so much as a genre, as a universe of content,” he says. Banijay has identified “five pillars” of growth: sportainment, docuseries, live, digital and scripted content.

Digital content represents a particularly significant focus. Workerbee recently partnered with sports marketing agency YRDS to develop both docuseries and digital projects. “YouTube is bigger than ever and starting to eclipse everyone else in the content game, so as a company, one thing we need to look at is digital,” states Murray.

Banijay’s launch of FC Failliet/Finesse in the Netherlands exemplifies this digital-first approach. The KNVB-registered football club, built around digital creators who collectively reach more viewers than all Eerste Divisie clubs combined, delivers live events alongside daily TikTok and Instagram updates and weekly YouTube vlogs.

Dazn is similarly integrating creators into its coverage, recently inviting content creator Brandon Smith to join its Club World Cup commentary team, generating 900,000 impressions and 9,000 engagements on Instagram from one clip. During El Clásico, 40% of users participated in Dazn’s interactive fanzone, producing 1.7 million engagements.

“Live sport is now going from a single broadcast nowadays to a multi-layer ecosystem,” commented Chrissie Hoolahan, senior director of content and creator partnerships at Dazn, at Content London.

Looking ahead, Berhoun maintains cautious optimism. “I don’t know if the future will be as bright as it has been, when sports rights were selling for higher and higher [amounts], but it’ll still have a positive outlook,” he says, noting emerging opportunities in women’s sports and alternative programming formats that offer broadcasters more affordable entry points into sports content.