Live at The Grand National: ITV Sport Production ready to give viewers the ride of their life

SVG Europe

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Preparations are coming to a head for the latest running of the world’s greatest steeplechase, and for ITV Sport Production’s lead creative director Paul McNamara, “it’s all about giving people a comfortable ride.”

The Randox Grand National draws in between 500-800 million viewers globally and is one of the crown jewels of British sport alongside Wimbledon and the Oxbridge Boat Race as an event that has become a cultural institution.

“To borrow a phrase, the National is when the majority of people go racing,” says McNamara, who will also direct the feature race for the tenth time.

The three day event in Aintree, Liverpool [April 9-11] is a fraction of the 117 race days covered live and free to air by ITV Racing (produced by ITV Sport Production, part of ITV Studios) over the year in a contract with Racecourse Media Group recently extended from 2027 to 2030. Nonetheless, its regular audiences are dwarfed by an occasion which attracted a peak domestic audience of 5.2 million last time out. ITV coverage of Royal Ascot came a close second, reaching five million viewers across its five days.

“We are lucky to be the custodians of this fabulous event,” says McNamara. “As a production we look back at archive films from the thirties, forties and fifties and wonder what people in 30 and 40 years will think when they look back at what we've done. In many ways the race coverage itself remains very similar. What we’ve done over the years is layer in additional cameras like drones and depth of field cameras but the story of the race has a similar pattern.

“The core ambition is to honour that legacy while pushing coverage forward using the tools available today.”

Visually, the Grand National remains one of the most comprehensively covered events in British sport. The 50-camera setup includes a wire cam along the home straight, drones, and helicopters, alongside hi-motion cameras and FS7 depth-of-field units. Yet there is a recognition that, in the current economic climate, simply maintaining this level of coverage is an achievement in itself.

“It’s a massive strength to stay where you are,” McNamara observes. “I want nothing in terms of covering this. For example, I don’t think we could integrate any more fence cameras and even if we did there's a risk of overcomplicating the live race.

“For us, it's not about tricks. It's about showing people clearly the story of the race so that they can follow all the action as it happens. Our focus is not on adding more for the sake of it, but on delivering clarity and consistency.”

Expanding coverage beyond the Race

What has changed significantly over the decades and notably in ITV Racing’s stewardship (since 2017) has been presentation of the meet as an entertainment experience. With more than 12 hours of live programming building up to a race that lasts around 12 minutes, the challenge lies in sustaining engagement throughout.

“It's always been our mantra that we're not a sports channel - we're an entertainment channel that does sport,” explains McNamara. “If a viewer tunes in at any point, regardless of their familiarity with racing, they should be entertained, not alienated by terminology.”

With 150,000 people attending Aintree, ITV will take viewers into the hospitality tents, grandstand and paddock to reflect all the colour and excitement. “We’ll follow [ITV Racing presenter] Oli Bell into different areas of the course. We’ll see the fans cooling down the horses and explain the welfare of the animals. We’ll have sections on fashion. Even betting is demystified, with presenters explaining how to place a wager in simple, accessible terms. Everything is there to inform and entertain.”

The emphasis on accessibility also informs production decisions. Presenters are often positioned in the parade ring, rather than in more detached studio environments.

“When we began our racing coverage we adopted a football philosophy which is to think of the parade ring like the managers’ dugout on the side of the pitch. That’s why we present from the parade ring, right at the heart of the action.”

There are subtle production changes, notably in presentation of audio. Horse racing has traditionally relied on augmented sound due to the scale of the courses, but ITV has worked to modernise this by refreshing its sound libraries (down to the type of horse running on different ground and at different speeds) and increasing the use of live “actuality” audio captured around the track. Microphones positioned at key fences including Becher’s and Canal Turn and remote sections of the 4 mile 550 yard course help create a more immersive experience, blending authenticity with carefully managed enhancement.

Graphics and rerun

While live graphics tracking technologies and AI-based systems have been explored, they are not yet considered reliable enough for real-time use in such a complex environment.

“Tracking and timing is complicated,” says Tony Cahalane, Technical Director, ITV Sport Production. “We’ve trialled AI-based visual recognition, but commentators are usually ahead of the tracking. Tracking can be done on an oval course; but it’s much harder on a course with the scale of Aintree.

“We do name horses in the rerun when we can be absolutely accurate. As a result, live coverage prioritises a clean, uncluttered picture, with more detailed analysis and visualisation deployed in reruns where accuracy can be guaranteed.”

The rerun itself is treated as a significant production in its own right. A separate EVS, editorial team and truck handles it, working with expert analyst Ruby Walsh to refine how the race is broken down and explained. Its popularity is such that it has become the second most-watched race in the UK – after the live run airs just minutes before.

“The key to making this run as slickly as it now does is in using the preceding two days as rehearsal. We don’t just rock up. We can source new angles from drone or hi-motion or fence cam not shown in the live run. A lot of work goes into producing this.”

Digital output

Digital output has become an increasingly important part of ITV’s operation. Alongside the linear broadcast, a dedicated on-site team captures, edits, and distributes content in real time. Clips from races, behind-the-scenes moments, and lighter editorial features are pushed across social platforms, while each day’s Opening Shows are streamed simultaneously on YouTube.

Maggie Price, Senior Production Manager, explains, “We have two digital producers on site, one who clips races and content and another who collects editorial content and colour. They will be constantly cutting and then pushing things out to our social media sites. We have a dedicated ENG camera at our disposal who can gather any additional information for anything that Paul might want to put into the show, as well as content for our VTs of cultural features created for airing the following day. All these are edited on site.”

She also highlights ITV’s Social Stable outreach on digital channels as “a great chance to interact with viewers” and to pull that content into the main linear programming.

“We invite viewers to share how they are watching the race and this creates a sense of participation that extends beyond the broadcast itself,” she says. “The team working remotely across ITV Racing's social media platforms will usually export 16x9 footage from the ITV programme output and then we will edit it via premiere pro into a vertical format (using keyframe tracking and scene edit detection) which makes the content able to be posted on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube shorts.”

Underlying ITV’s Grand National coverage is a long and detailed planning process. Preparations begin months in advance, with initial creative discussions taking place in the autumn and continuing through site visits, production meetings, and ongoing collaboration with the racecourse.

Cahalane says, “It’s a wonderful event and a great team effort; one that continues to demand care, attention, and respect year after year.

“We’ve already put dates in the diary for 2027.”

Streaming Year in Review

Streaming Media

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Two stories dominated streaming media in 2025: Netflix versus the rest and YouTube takes TV. YouTube may be the bigger story. “Netflix knows who its competition is,” said media guru Evan Shapiro at IBC25. “It’s YouTube.”

No-one was really surprised when YouTube CEO Neal Mohan declared, “YouTube is the new television.” That’s because the figures don’t lie. In his annual letter in February, Mohan revealed that TV screens have officially overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US.”

The ‘new’ television doesn’t look like the ‘old’ television,” Mohan wrote. “It’s interactive and includes things like Shorts, podcasts, and live streams, right alongside sports, sitcoms and talk shows people already love.”

Noting that 45 million Americans watched election-related content on the platform, he unscored: “YouTube will remain the epicenter of culture.”

Already the largest internet TV provider in the US with more than 9 million subscribers, in May, YouTube held 12.5% of all TV use, according to Nielsen Guage, the highest share of TV for any streamer to date. Nielsen also noted that month that YouTube Main (excluding YouTube TV) is up over 120% since 2021 leading a collection of free services (such as PlutoTV, Roku Channel and Tubi) which have been “a major driver of streaming’s overall success”.

In July, in the UK, regulator Ofcom reported that YouTube was now the second most watched streaming service behind BBC iPlayer. Among 16 to 34 years olds YouTube was the most-watched service overall.

Alphabet’s video platform has become the indispensable distribution partner for studios and broadcasters. More and more of their content is being carried on YouTube with evidence to suggest that this does drive more viewers back to source – but this journey is not without a hitch.

Despite tapping new revenue from an ad-sales pact with YouTube and claiming views of its  content on the platform have leapt 169%, UK broadcaster Channel 4 warned of challenges working with social media networks.

“We have no control over third party platforms,” said Louisa Compton C4’s Head of News at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August. “The algorithms are shady and non-transparent. I also believe public service broadcasters content should be kite marked [given prominence] on those applications.”

Disney pulled its content from YouTube TV for two weeks November saying that YouTube was refusing to pay fair rates for its channel (YouTube claimed that Disney was using the blackout as a negotiating tactic that would have resulted in higher prices for its subscribers).

“Social media have the central ability to control the media experience of the audience,” said Kevin Mayer, co-founder and co-CEO of Candle Media at the RTS conference in September. His company owns CocoMelon, the largest family channel on YouTube with 200 million subscribers yet Mayer highlighted the vulnerability of relying on algorithms that could change overnight.

“YouTube is hard to deal with at times. Monetisation is lumpy. They tweak the algorithm. You have to be careful but the power and global nature of those platforms is undeniable.”

Nonetheless, 85% of Internet users watch YouTube each month with nearly one in five watching full-length movies and TV shows on the platform, charted Ampere Analysis. Significantly, it is 35–64-year-olds that is powering YouTube’s “golden age of film and TV,” according to Ampere.

Expect this to continue into 2026 with a “stronger emphasis on driving consumption on TV through licensed, long-tail movies and classic TV series,” predicts Jason Platt Zolov, Senior Consultant, Hub. “By packaging and promoting familiar titles in ways that appeal to audiences encountering them for the first time, YouTube is poised to extend its dominance beyond short-form and capture more living-room viewing.” 

Paramount Tops Netflix in Battle to Acquire WBD

In a bidding process in which Paramount Skydance was the pundits’ favorite, Netflix bid $82.7 billion (an equity value of $72 billion) for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio business in early December and entered negotiations with the company.

Immediately following the Netflix bid, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders rejected an upgraded offer from Paramount Skydance valuing the entire business at $108.4 billion. In addition, any deal must pass regulatory hurdles—including European regulators—and any deal reached after the principal parties come to terms could take up to 18 months to close.

In late February 2026, Paramount Skydance increased its offer to $111 billion in cash, or $31 per share, and stated that it would cover a $2.8 billion termination fee owed to Netflix should Warner Bros. Discovery break the deal and a $7 billion regulatory termination fee. The acquisition would be for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its film and TV studios and linear cable networks.

On Feb. 26, Netflix declined to raise its offer to match Paramount’s revised bid. At press time, the deal was expected to be finalized following a Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder vote on March 20.

If approved, the $111 billion deal would unite two major Hollywood studios and one of the deepest content libraries in the industry.

“For all the regulatory noise, this deal ultimately comes back to the fundamentals of the entertainment business,” says Ed Barton, research director at Caretta Research. “Control of premium IP and global distribution maximizes engagement and builds scale that compounds.”

Paramount Skydance’s franchises (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Transformers, and SpongeBob SquarePants among them) combined with HBO’s premium positioning create a formidable global streaming proposition.

The resulting content juggernaut “would immediately become a more credible challenger to Netflix—not necessarily in raw scale on Day 1, but in depth and variety of monetizable franchises,” says Barton. “And while Netflix loses access to Warner Bros. IP in this scenario, it is far from vulnerable. It remains the most effective company in the market at monetizing IP at global scale.”

Three days after Warner formally signed an acquisition agreement, Paramount Skydance head David Ellison announced plans to merge the Paramount+ and HBO Max platforms, giving the combined platform 200+ million subscribers.

The combined Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery entity will operate with a net debt of $79 billion. The deal is backed by $54 billion in debt commitments from Citigroup, Apollo, and Bank of America, according to Reuters.

Skydance Paramount

In August, more than a year after announcing its purchase of Paramount for $8 billion, Skydance Media closed the deal with CEO David Ellison promised to turn his new toy into a “tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley.”

In November Paramount reported its first quarter since merging with Skydance. It made $6.7bn for Q3 which was flat year on year as its TV division continued to struggle. The company also posted a net loss of $257m based on merger-related expenses and restructuring costs.

The DTC side was rosier. Streaming revenue increased 17% to $2.17bn, with Paramount+ accounting for more than 80 percent of that growing its subs by 14% to over 79 million.

A unified technology stack is being introduced across Paramount+ and Pluto TV to enhance performance, improve user experience, and reduce costs. Paramount is also developing AI tools to power personalisation and recommendations. However, it will also raise Paramount+ prices in the US in the new year.

“Our direct-to-consumer business is our top priority,” David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount wrote to shareholders. “We expect it to be profitable in 2025 with growth in profitability in 2026.”

Strength in streaming

Strength in streaming continued to offset the structural weakness in traditional television in 2025 as studios shed their cable business and began to turn a profit from their DTC ventures.

This macro trend is reflected in the swelling values of the streaming video market. While estimates vary according to research analyst, the global market size is projected to grow from $250bn in 2025 to $1.6 trillion by 2035 or from $811bn in 2025 to $2.6 trillion by 2032. 

Overall, the U.S. remains the “largest and most influential” streaming video market globally, according to PwC’s 2025 Global E&M Outlook report. It generated $61.9bn in revenue in 2024 on track to reach  $112.7bn by 2029. The next largest market, per PwC, is China which is one fifth the size.

For comparison, the global broadcasting and cable TV market was estimated at $356bn in 2024 and is projected to reach $450bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4% whereas the global creator economy market size is expected to grow at over 23% between  now and 2033 by which time it will have value of $1.3 trillion.

Streamers spent around $95bn on content in 2025, surpassing commercial broadcasters, according to Ampere Analysis with Netflix leading the pack. It spent around $18 billion on content in 2025 — and “We’re not anywhere near a ceiling”, according to Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann speaking as reported in Variety. He was speaking in March so if the deal for WBD proceeds expect figures going forward to dwarf that. Pre-sale, WBD was planning to spend in the order of $19.5bn on content including sports this year, according to MoffettNathanson reported in THR.

Per MoffettNathanson, Disney was tracking to outlay $23bn in 2025; Amazon $9.1bn on and pre-merger Paramount Global around $15.2bn.

Peacock

By end of the year Comcast’s board had approved the separation of the company’s cable television networks (including CNBC, MSNBC and E!) and complementary digital platforms from its remaining businesses in a process that began a year previously. Versant Media Group is the new independent, publicly traded company [VSNT] led by Mark Lazarus who will be living up to his name if he can turn around the fortunes of legacy media.

At the same time Versant acquired Free TV Networks, which provides both broadcast networks and FAST channels in the US. Comcast retains NBC, Bravo and Peacock which ended the year with around 41 million subscribers and had a $217m loss in the third quarter of 2025, following a $436m loss for the same quarter in 2024.

A new package of NBA games in addition to Sunday Night Football games produced by NBC Sports is expected to give the streamer a leap into the New Year.  Peacock revenue dropped slightly to $1.4bn Q3 compared with $1.5bn in same period 2024 when the Paris Olympics boosted results.

Commenting on Q3 results, Comcast’s then president Michael Cavanagh, now co-CEO, stressed the reliance that Peacock has on sports. “As audiences continue to shift from linear to streaming, the multiple benefits of sports becomes an even greater advantage,” he remarked. “Live sports continue to deliver strong viewership and ad performance across broadcast and streaming. Tunning linear and streaming as one integrated media business gives us real scale and flexibility. It allows us to align programming, marketing, promotion and monetization across NBC, Peacock and our studios… and well positioned to grow.”

Comcast bid for greater UK share

November saw Comcast move for the broadcasting wing of UK commercial broadcaster ITV. The business, which includes ITV’s terrestrial TV channels and streaming platform ITVX, is valued at U$2.1bn. Comcast, which already owns pay-TV broadcaster Sky, aims to create a UK-focused streaming giant with an advertising marketplace based on Comcast’s Universal Ads platform.

The move would face regulatory scrutiny because of the monopoly it would hold (70% of the domestic TV ads). However, Comcast also understands that the UK market which currently supports five main public service broadcasters is under increasing pressure to consolidate. If ITV were to be sold then pressure would grow on the BBC and Channel 4 to pool their resources including their streaming services iPlayer and All4 (though the major PSBs also combine to operate Connected TV app Freely).

Sir Peter Bazalgette, former chair of ITV and a shareholder, said, “There's going to be an inevitable consolidation of domestic broadcasters all across Europe. There are four or five domestic broadcasts across Europe who can't all have a long-term future against the streaming giants. There is going to be a consolidation, and ITV are going to lead it in the UK.”

Apple

In the year that Apple rebranded Apple TV+ to Apple TV the tech company continued its policy of curated rather than volume content. Since the company doesn’t release subscriber numbers, the best guesses are that by end of 2025, at least 45 million people are paying $12.99 to access shows like Slow Horses and F1: The Movie. It’s reckoned that Apple scaled back its annual budget for content from $5bn to $4.5bn but is still operating the service at a $1bn loss.

Amazon Prime Video

In June Amazon defaulted all subscribers to an advertising tier even for paid users, unless they opted to pay extra to avoid ads.

That default flip puts Amazon into a different category than other streamers—instead of discounting into an ad tier, Amazon is monetizing the entire base, noted Subscription Insider.

By end of the year, Prime Video had launched advertising in 16 countries including Australia, Brazil, India and Japan, and gathered 315 million monthly viewers, up from 200m when it introduced ads in April 2024. It does not break out ad revenue for Prime Video but in the third quarter, total ad revenue across all of Amazon was $17.7bn, up 24% YoY.

Calling the 315 million figure “a transformative milestone” Jeremy Helfand, VP of Prime Video Advertising, said, “We’re just beginning to unlock what’s possible when premium entertainment, engaged viewers, and innovative ad-tech converge with relevant and performant advertising at this unprecedented scale.”

"2026 could see Amazon Prime Video introduce a universal video search experience that spans platforms—including services outside the Amazon ecosystem,” predicts Mark Loughney, Senior Consultant, Hub. “By positioning itself as the easiest place to find anything to watch, Amazon stands to become a default viewing hub, with more consumers centralizing and managing their subscriptions through the Prime Video interface.”

Disney

In its Q3 earnings report, Disney CEO Bob Iger made a point of highlighting the success of its orientation to streaming: “Our DTC business was running a $4 billion operating loss just three years ago” and by Q4, September this had swung to a $352m profit and a 39% increase in DTC operating income.

There are now 131.6 million Disney+ subscribers, an increase of 3.8m compared to Q3, split roughly 50/50 between domestic and international. There are also around 64 million Hulu subscribers bringing the combined Disney+ and Hulu base to 195.7m.

Since June, when it closed a $9bn deal to buy Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu, Disney wholly owns Hulu which it plans to fold into the Disney+ app. From Q1 2026, Disney will no longer report subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ because “the metric has become less meaningful” for evaluating the performance of its businesses, management said.

Full year revenues increased 3% to $94.4bn a performance that was considered flat by the markets and which was dragged down by its linear business, where domestic networks revenue and operating income dropped 16% and 21%, respectively. In 2026, Disney anticipates spending $24bn on content across entertainment and sports.

The State of Live Sports Streaming 2026

Streaming Media

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By 2030, the value of global sports rights will reach $78bn, up 20% from 2025, predicts Ampere Analysis, as global streamers switch to making live sports a major strategic play.  There’s a parallel pivot from rights owners looking to embrace digital and streaming channels to reach new and younger audiences. The deeper pockets of billionaire backed streamers or those owned by tech giants does not go unnoticed by leagues and federations looking to bring yet more cash into their game.

In the US, spend on sports rights in 2025 totalled $30.5bn (per Ampere figures) with almost two thirds of that generated by long term TV deals from major leagues but the switch is gradually being flipped to carriage on global streaming platforms.  In its report, S&P attributed increased competition from streamers to helping double the value of America’s streaming sports media rights from to nearly $30bn in 2024.

Netflix $5bn ten year coverage of the WWE began in January with 300 hours of content streamed in the first half of 2025. Ampere charted its impact noting that WWE Raw episodes generated 88.6 million total aggregated views, “helping reduce churn and even grow Netflix US subscriber base, despite what is often seen as a saturated market.”

It may be that in the next tranche of major league rights (from 2030 onwards, though they may be negotiated sooner) distribution on linear TV falls away almost entirely replaced by streaming services. But before we herald DAZN, Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney/ESPN as winners, there is market disruption on the horizon.

Creators changing the face of sports 

For the second year running, IMG’s Digital Trends Report 2026 crowned YouTube the priority platform for the sports industry. The ability for YouTube (also Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook) to reach new audiences with new formats, drive revenue, and deliver audience analytics is the most significant trend in sports media coverage right now.

Just as broadcasters are distributing more and more of their shows on YouTube, so sports rights holders are making larger deals with the platform to carry their games live and for free, hopeful that fans will be enticed back to the mother ship. No longer just about highlights and post-match reactions, Alphabet’s platform is becoming a primary destination for live sports, especially on connected TVs.

In the US, YouTube streamed the first game of the 2025 NFL season live, exclusive and free from the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. The Chiefs v Chargers contest was seen by 17.3 million fans worldwide, opening the sport up to “an interactive viewing experience with creators right at the center of the experience,” according to YouTube chief business officer, Mary Ellen Coe.

In Brazil, where soccer clubs rather than leagues own the broadcast rights to top-flight matches, broadcasting has already shifted to social media. In 2022, CazéTV, a production company owned by media and marketing agency LiveMode and Brazilian streamer Casimiro, streamed live matches from Rio de Janeiro’s state league and from the FIFA World Cup Qatar on YouTube and Twitch. Last year, the FIFA Club World Cup was streamed CazéTV’s YouTube channels and Samsung TV+. Now CazéTV has gone one better and secured 2026 FIFA World Cup streaming rights for all 104 matches - for free – along with official Winter Olympics 2026 Milan and the LA Olympics 2028 in partnership with the IOC.

CazéTV promises interactive programming targeting younger fans. Similar moves are being replicated, if not yet to the same scale, in other territories as legacy media is reformed with social media and YouTube at its heart.

In the 2025 season, UK soccer fans were able to watch German Bundesliga matches on YouTube channels (Mark Goldbridge’s  ‘Watchalong’ That’s Football, 1.5m subscribers; and former pro soccer player Gary Neville’s The Overlap, 1.3m subscribers) as well as on Bundesliga’s official YouTube channel (5.3m subscribers). Also in the UK, YouTuber EggChasers streamed whole live matches from the second tier of the French rugby league.

While IMG warns against “mistaking virality for value” it advises sports organisations to “balance formats, using short clips to attract attention but guiding fans toward podcasts, live streams, and storytelling that sustain engagement and emotional connection.” Sports brands “must publish high-quality, high-volume material across every platform all the time,” it emphasizes.

Younger audiences want digital, interactive, multi-screen and authentic experiences. “They want more from the way that they consume content,” Caretta Research analyst Rebecca Jackson told said in November. “They want to have multiple things on screen at the same time; they want stats; they want to be able to engage with content more actively. That’s going to be super important in terms of maintaining competitive edge.”

Production splits sports into streaming parts

In turn this means sports producers need to think like creators and adopt toolsets accordingly. In its analysis of CazeTV, UK based sports production agency WSC Sports highlights a three point plan:

1: Build interactivity into broadcasts such as chat, polls and watch parties, “that make viewers feel part of the experience rather than spectators.” 2: Generate clips, stories, and formats for every match moment “so that engagement continues beyond the live”. 3: Use AI to scale.

In its 2026 report IMG also advised live producers to use AI to streamline workflows. It added, “The brands that scale up production without sacrificing purpose or originality will dominate attention and engagement.”

We are witnessing the final breakup of the legacy broadcast model: one signal, one production, sent to everyone. When the means of transmission (streaming) is in the hands of the rights holder they can disintermediate broadcasters and go straight to fans. IP means they can also split that signal into as many streams (ISO feeds, AI voiced local language commentary, graphics and data, 9:16 video for mobile) to create new monetizable products or new ways to engage with an audience that actively wants to interact.

Paul Calleja, CEO at IP transport platform provider GlobalM, dubs this “intelligent orchestration.” He says, “You need to be able to ingest a feed once, then version, format, and distribute it in real time to multiple endpoints across the globe. That might mean a high-bitrate SRT stream to multiple broadcasters, an RTMP output for a digital only streaming app, or a HLS stream optimised for mobile users. At the same time, you might be sending a recorded version to an archive server, pushing metadata into a CMS, and distributing highlights to social media platforms with different overlays or branding.”

Josh Harrington, Commercial Strategist in the FAST & CTV space declared in a LinkedIn post, “The streaming industry is entering a new era: the age of controlled devices, locked-down delivery, and premium-rights protection. And it could be a preview of what’s coming next — especially in live sports.”

Fragmentation continues but is this really a negative?

The splintering of live sports rights and the splitting of the universal signal into its constituent parts can be seen as part of the same continuum. It depends where you stand on whether this outcome is negative or positive for consumers.

The carve-up of Uefa soccer rights in Europe is generally seen as a negative. Fans wanting to watch the full suite of matches in the UCL and other Uefa tournaments in the UK will have to subscribe to Amazon and DAZN as well as Sky Sports “which will only push users to watch streams illegally,” reckoned analyst Paolo Pescatore.

Caretta Research found the pace of deals moving from traditional broadcast and pay TV to streaming and D2C is accelerating. “Platforms like YouTube now hold more sports rights than any other single outlet in many territories, largely because of their dominance in Tier 2 and Tier 3 sports,” noted analyst Tom Morrod. “If this trajectory holds, the fragmentation and redistribution of rights will not just be a strategic choice, it will become the default model.”

BBC Sport, which retains highlights to UCL matches until 2030/31, also took the consumer’s side; “Every time a new broadcaster enters the TV rights market it usually means one thing: supporters paying more to watch live football.”

What consumers really want does not exist in the market and never will, said streaming media guru Dan Rayburn. “They want one service to go and get every piece of sports content they could possibly ever get. That is not going to happen.”

There is an opposing view which argues that fragmentation is an opportunity. “Fragmentation is one of the most commercially exciting things happening in our industry right now,” claims Calleja. “It allows federations to sell more, deliver more, and engage new types of buyers. It brings new value to each part of the production, not just the match itself.”

GlobalM has a vested interest in making this case but Calleja’s argument, in an op-ed published at SVG Europe, is persuasive. “Federations and leagues are recognising that every version of a feed, every angle, graphic overlay, and audio track can be sold to someone. This is about allowing a much wider marketplace to participate in rights buying that is no longer limited to broadcast on its own.”

For example, in-car camera feeds in motorsport will be sold separately from the main coverage; additional analytics streams will be offered to betting platforms.

“The orchestration layer has become just as important as the production layer,” he argues. “It’s no longer enough to produce the feed, you need to be able to manage it across multiple pathways, each with its own commercial rules and technical requirements.”

FuboTV/Hulu, ESPN Unlimited and Fox One launches

Early in January 2025, Disney announced it would merge sports-centric streamer FuboTV with Hulu + Live TV, a move that effectively killed off Venu Sports.

To recap: Venu was a sports-only streamer offering major league and college sports in a joint venture from Disney, Fox, and WBD, scheduled to launch by the fall of 2024. That was until FuboTV, headed by CEO David Gandler, took on the giants with a lawsuit that claimed Venu would be anti-competitive and would restrict consumer choice. The previous August, the courts had decided in favor of Fubo and while Disney could have pursued the case it decided instead to negotiate and fold Fubo into its own. It paid $220m to Fubo on top of a $145m loan to take 70% of the combined Fubo and Hulu + Live TV entity.

In September 2025, the transaction was rubber stamped by FuboTV shareholders - routine since the upside seems obvious: its execs remain in charge of operations, it grew its subs overnight to 6.2 million and gained the financial protection of a corporate behemoth.

For Disney, too the opportunity to acquire Fubo “was likely a no-brainer,” according to Forbes. “Facing challenges from well-capitalized streaming competitors like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, the move to combine Fubo and Hulu + Live TV gives Disney a robust, sports-focused distribution vehicle that complements its existing portfolio of ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+.”

That’s notwithstanding the go-ahead of a stand-alone ESPN streaming flagship in August. ESPN Unlimited is a DTC combining access to all ESPN linear networks and bolstered, at launch, with fresh games from the NFL Network (in exchange for which the NFL acquired a 10% stake in ESPN). The new service, which costs nearly $30 a month, will also bundle WWE events in a five year exclusive US deal from 2026.

Fox made a similar move debuting its DTC service Fox One in August offering access to all Fox channels plus live sports including the college football’s Big Ten Championship and NFL for $20/month. Both it and ESPN Unlimited had showed moderate gains after three months. Data from research firm Antenna estimates 3m  sign-ups for ESPN (in addition to the 25m existing Disney subs on launch) and 2.3m for Fox One to October 2025.

Paramount+ makes waves in Europe

The tectonic plates of US studios made a seismic shift on the UK sports landscape when Paramount+, hitherto unknown to fans that side of the pond as a place to watch live sport, landed exclusive rights to Uefa Champions League matches from 2027-2030 for which it reportedly paid in excess of $1.3bn. That follows the $7.7bn paid last summer for exclusive US rights to the UFC for seven years beginning 2026. 

Aside from further fragmenting the market for consumers, the strike could land a knock-out blow to TNT Sports which had held rights to the UCL since 2015-16 under its previous incarnation BT Sport.

“Losing these rights is significant for Warner-owned TNT Sports, as its UEFA club competition rights spend makes up 39% of its total UK sports rights outlay and the competitions are a key subscription driver, alongside its package of one game a week in the English Premier League (EPL),” noted Ampere’s Danni Moore.

“No dressing this up, a disastrous outcome as [TNT] will lose the Crown Jewels in its sports portfolio,” added media analyst Paolo Pescatore. “While it saves much-needed cash, it could lead to its demise.”

Suggesting that Paramount+ had “clearly overpaid” to secure the UCL, “as part of a strategy to build a base quickly” Pescatore said, “TNT Sports will lose subscribers as sports are a big draw and drive subscriptions. For users, this is terrible, forcing them to sign up to another relatively unknown provider who relies solely on streaming (as things stand).”

That’s an important caveat since Paramount could broadcast UCL matches on UK linear Channel 5 which it owns (it does similar on CBS with the UCL rights it already owns in the US).

While Warner Bros retains TNT Sports in the US as part of its global networks division of cable channels, Netflix will gain control of TNT International including TNT Sports UK & Ireland and therefore rights to Premier League and UCL (for the rest of this season only). Netflix will likely use its increased scale to take a bigger stake in live sports which is one of the premium content areas in which it doesn't currently have a huge stake.

Apple roars into F1

F1: The Movie was one of the box office hits of the year generating $630m in global receipts while serving as invaluable promotion for the motorsport in growing reach in the US and for Apple (hardware and streamer) which produced the film in partnership with governing body FIA.

It seems likely that greenlighting the movie’s production ran in parallel to discussions at Apple about targeting live rights, which it did by locking out incumbent ESPN and everyone else from the US market for five years. That begins next season when Cadillac joins the grid.

The $750m Apple will pay F1 owner Liberty Media in that time will see all Grands Prix available as part of an Apple TV subscription (though it may air some races for free to help platform and motorsport extend reach).

The deal adds to Apple’s existing US sports rights for MLB and MLS. According to Ampere data, fewer than half of F1 followers in the US are also fans of the MLB and only 18% also follow the MLS. With over two-thirds of US F1 fans (approximately 2.8m) not already with Apple TV, there’s a pool of F1 fans ready to be lapped up.

DAZN cements relationship with Saudi and FIFA

DAZN accounted for one third ($4.1bn) of all spend by streaming services on sports in 2025 and with the London headquartered company minority owned by Saudia Arabia since February (majority owned by billionaire Leonard Blavatnik) the self-proclaimed ‘Netflix of Sport’ shows no sign of running out of cash.

The streamer’s most high profile carriage was the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup for which it $1bn. Hosted in 11 US cities between June and July and won by British club Chelsea, the 63 matches of the inaugural tournament were viewed by an estimated 2.7 billion fans across all forms of media, according to Nielsen. As the exclusive global broadcaster, DAZN also sublicensed broadcast rights to more than 100 partners worldwide. While the linear figures “show impressive results” according to FIFA (in Brazil, for example, more than 131 million or 62% of the population watched the tournament on TV Globo) the soccer body was coy about figures for streaming.

It states that DAZN’s social channels received over ten billion impressions but ratings for streaming coverage in Europe are undisclosed, perhaps limited because of the time difference which saw matches played in Europe’s early morning.

This will not dampen a likely rerun in 2029 not least because of the relationship between FIFA, Saudi Arabia and DAZN.  The $1bn investment by Surj Sports Investment, part of KSA’s sovereign wealth fund, is aimed to make DAZN the official platform to showcase Saudi sport and Saudi-based events to the world. The stake represents about 5% of DAZN value even though the company has yet to turn a profit and lost nearly $1bn in the last financial year.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sport and games (including the $55bn buyout of EA) to help diversify its economy, soften its image and attract tourists. KSA also hosts the FIFA World Cup for national teams in 2034.

For Netflix, sport is lifestyle programming

From being sports adjunct with docu-series like The Last Dance and Full Swing, Netflix now considers the live event as essential to its content strategy. Yet it still does so with a left of centre approach which looks to fuse entertainment and sports into new formats to entice new audiences. The clear example are its one-off boxing extravaganzas featuring YouTuber Jake Paul. His bout with aging Mike Tyson in November 2024 drew 108 million viewers, according to Netflix. By comparison Paul’s December 2025 knockout by Anthony Joshua was seen by 33 million. Arguably a more significant boxing event for Netflix was September’s fight between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas, watched by 41.5 million viewers, which “signalled a shift from ‘celebrity boxing’ to the crown jewels of the sport,” reckoned The Telegraph.

As significant was the inclusion of these fights for ‘free’ within Netflix’ standard with ads subscription effectively “breaking the paywall that has stifled boxing’s growth for decades.” This holds true for NFL games like Cowboys vs Commanders and Lions vs Vikings on Christmas Day. Its goal is not to be a boxing promoter (like DAZN) “but a global stadium,” writes The Telegraph. “They want you to stay for the NFL and WWE, but use boxing spectacles to stop viewers from hitting the cancel button.”

However, even Netflix couldn’t present a seamless streaming experience. After reports of buffering during the Paul-Tyson bout, some viewers of Paul v AJ vented their frustration at audio sync issues. One commented online: “Sorry Netflix but leave live stuff to the professionals, can’t even get the audio and mouth movement the same… #netflix.”