The ecosystem of traditional media staggers. While fragmented audiences and the fall of rating force historical chains to rethink their future, there is a genre that continues to gain ground, capturing not only eyes, but multimillion -dollar budgets: live sport.
What was previously an undisputed bastion of traditional television (NFL Sundays, NBA nights in TNT, international cup football) is now also a terrain of technological giants such as Amazon, Netflix, Apple and Dazn, who have begun to snatch rights with the accuracy of a well -trained goalkeeper.
From linear television to algorithm: Why are fans move? The phenomenon not only redefines the way sports are consumed, it is also reconfiguring the entire entertainment industry.
For decades, sporting events were the last red television redoubt. According to Variety Intelligence Platform, in just six years, sporting events went from 37 to 74 of the 100 most watched programs in Prime Time.
The loyalty of the sports audience has been so solid that many homes maintained their cable subscriptions only to follow their team. But the “cord-coutting” (cut the rope, synonymous with shrinking expenses) progress and streaming now wants a larger portion of the cake.
The growth of the platforms, of course, was not shy: in 2024, the streamers invested 10 billion dollars in sports rights, and this figure is expected to continue growing. Amazon, for example, dedicates more than 20% of its content budget in 2025 to sports, while Netflix has invested US $ 5 billion for five years of WWE, in addition to acquiring rights of exclusive events of the NFL and FIFA.
And all this happens while the general rating of traditional television is still in free fall.
The new league. If it were a position table, Amazon would be clearly leading in the Streamer Deportivo category. With agreements of more than US $ 5 billion annually to cover NFL, NBA and European football leagues, Prime Video has made the sport a backbone of its value proposition. His first exclusive NFL game attracted more than 100,000 new subscribers in one day, and his audience for the “Thursday Night Football” grew 20% compared to the era of the cable.
Netflix arrived later, but with a firm step. After years of refusing to enter the world of live sport, he changed his strategy in 2024 by announcing his “megadeal” with WWE, NFL Christmas matches, and FIFA Women’s World Cup rights. And although it still avoids regular calendars, it has already touched to acquire the Sunday parties of the NFL by 2029-2030, which would mark a radical change in its positioning.
Apple, although shy so far, is perhaps the “covered.” Its current investment includes a weekly MLB party and the entire MLS, but it is expected to make a bold movement in future tenders, especially if the NFL returns to the market. Even his series “Ted Lasso”, born of an NBC promo, reveals his desire to emotionally connect with sports fans.
For surviving
And traditional giants? Fox, ESPN (Disney), NBC and CBS are not far behind. Disney, for example, allocates about 45% of its sports content budget, while Fox leads with more than 60%. However, they have also begun to release ballast: ESPN left out to baseball and nbcuniversal will decrease its expense in years without Olympic Games. But the threat is real: what would these chains be without NFL or NBA?
NBC bet strongly to recover the NBA since 2025 in an agreement of US $ 27 billion for 11 years, returning to the league to its historic house and its iconic melody, “Roundball Rock”. For now, they have to compete, but they are already sharing rights with Amazon, indicating an inevitable change.
Mixed agreements with Streamers are already a reality: NBC Subliance Tournaments such as the New FIFA Club World Cup. Interdependence is inevitable, but the signals are unequivocal: without key sports rights, chains such as Fox or CBS could lose relevance in an accelerated way.
Those who lead
Not all sports disciplines are worth the same or generate the same interest. The Variety Intelligence Platform report indicates that 93 of the 100 most seen programs in the US in 2023 were NFL games, consolidating its absolute domain. American football represents more than 25%of the American sports audience, and follow the MLB (19%), the NBA (18%) and the NHL (11%).
The NBA, with its huge international projection, signed a historical agreement with Amazon and Peacock, and by dividing rights between streamers and traditional chains ensures both income and exposure. The UFC will also see an important leap in their rights, which went from US $ 840 million to 2.1 billion dollars in the last decade, and could increase this year.
In contrast, baseball is in a limbo. ESPN has abandoned its current contract and is expected to completely restructure its distribution model, focusing on sports bets and international expansion. Other decline disciplines are golf and tennis, which without figures such as Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams, lose attractiveness and market value.
New habits
The young audience (18-34) already consumes 60% of the sports content via streaming, much more than any other age strip. In addition, they are less loyal to the teams and more fans of leagues or individual players: they continue to LeBron more than the Lakers, Messi more than Inter Miami.
71% of fans say they prefer to see sports live, but that number drops to 58% between GEN Z and millennials. The Second Screen is the norm: social networks, live statistics and bets accompany the experience. The leagues already understood and seek to capitalize that interaction to monetize beyond the transmission.
For this audience, sport is as digital as gaming: 66% of NBA’s young fans play NBA 2K, and sports video games are becoming another way to loyalty fans.
That trend renewed F1 and will also do it with football. The FIFA model (with events every four years) remains a massive success. But more was needed: its new Club World Cup in 2025 will be transmitted globally by Dazn, after paying $ 1 billion for rights. The sublicence in the US will go to TNT and TBS, combining traditional streaming and TV. And Netflix will transmit the Women’s World Cup, showing the global appetite of the platforms.
What follows? The WNBA, meanwhile, lives an boom, showing that female franchises also have potential if they have a good marketing. Their rights grew an impressive 389%, and their new agreement with ESPN, NBC and Amazon for US $ 2.2 billion shows that there is an appetite for emerging leagues, especially when they already have stars that connect with the public.
In the short term, the battle will continue. While only 20% of rights rates are currently in the hands of streamers, the trend is growing. Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet have more deep pockets than any BroadCaster, and their business logic does not depend exclusively on selling subscriptions or commercials. They can use sport as a hook for other services: from retail sales (Amazon) to devices (Apple) or advertising expansion (Netflix).
But there is a warning: more expense in Deportes means less investment in scripted entertainment: the next “The Witcher” or “Stranger Things” may never occur if money is already committed to American football or boxing.
Even so, while fans are willing to pay more, look more ads and stay subscribed, sport will continue to be the jewel of the crown of modern entertainment. And the platforms know it: this game just begins, and the new champions are in the cloud.
You may also interest you
By rn
Image gallery
