In 2023, the value of sports rights in the U.S. surged by over 20%, reaffirming what we already know: live sport continues to be the crown jewel of premium content. But while the rights themselves are rising in value, the expectations around how sports are delivered have evolved even faster. According to an Emarketer forecast report, digital viewing surpassed traditional pay TV live sports viewing in 2023 and is expected to grow by over 20% between 2024 and 2027.
As streaming becomes the norm, today’s fans—especially digital natives - aren’t satisfied with simply watching a game. They want to experience it: instantly, interactively, securely, and on the device of their choice. As a result, the playbook for success in sports broadcasting and streaming has fundamentally changed. It’s no longer about just owning the content, it’s about owning the experience.
Low Latency and Short-Form Viewing Live Hand in HandIn a world where Gen Z and Millennials flip between full games and highlight clips in quick succession, delivering live sports at broadcast-level latency isn’t optional—it’s essential. In addition, the growth in sports betting means delays in stream delivery have the potential to impact revenue opportunities and fan trust.
With 71% of Gen Z and Millennial fans consuming sports highlights weekly (and within minutes of the live event), streamers must not only match and exceed the speed of broadcast TV but must also accelerate the turnaround for short-form content. Even small delays can gradually erode engagement, limit betting opportunities, or make it harder to stay relevant in fast-moving social conversations.
The industry is aggressively exploring new approaches, and protocols like WebRTC and Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS) are increasingly being supported in various platforms to reduce latency. WebRTC supports sub-second peer-to-peer delivery ideal for fan interactivity, while LL-HLS brings scalable, mainstream HTTP workflows closer to real-time with chunked CMAF delivery. In parallel, AI applications enable sophisticated and automated highlight detection from live streams to facilitate rapid short form content creation and deployment to multiple social platforms.
From Passive to Personalized: Multicamera Synchronized Streaming
Fans now expect more than a director’s cut—they want options: alternative angles, replays, and multi-cam views they can control. But delivering on that promise requires more than just switching feeds. It demands precise synchronization across all sources, extended beyond the broadcast booth and into the streaming environment. Video alignment mechanisms traditionally used in broadcast production, such as those enabled by SMPTE 2110 and 2059, provide frame-accurate synchronization, but OTT workflows will need to adopt lightweight, stream-compatible timing strategies to match this level of precision.
This evolution is being driven by demand: 55% of sports fans say they want access to multiple camera angles, and 33% consider that capability a key enhancement for sports highlights. Platforms are beginning to respond—Sky Sports’ F1 Race Control is a leading example, allowing viewers to toggle between live driver cams, onboard feeds, and race telemetry in real time, all aligned with the main broadcast.
As interactive viewing becomes table stakes, broadcasters and streamers must develop timing models that scale across devices and networks, ensuring fans don’t just watch the action, they control how they experience it.
Adaptive, AI-Enhanced Encoding Improves the Experience
Sports fans today watch games on an array of devices, from high-definition TVs to smartphones and tablets, and with varying network conditions. Delivering a consistent, high-quality viewing experience across these platforms requires a more intelligent approach to encoding, one that dynamically adjusts based on content complexity and bandwidth availability.
Today’s sports broadcasting isn’t just about the live event, it’s about serving fans across live, on-demand, and 24/7 adjacent content."
AI-powered adaptive encoding tackles this challenge by analyzing footage in real time and applying pre- and post-processing models to improve picture quality with increasing bandwidth requirements. This approach not only enhances streaming efficiency but also ensures mobile users on constrained connections receive an uninterrupted experience. With 75% of video now being consumed on mobile, AI-driven encoding can also optimize content for vertical viewing formats, catering to the rise of mobile-first sports consumption.
Tackling the Ongoing Threat of Piracy
With live sports rights commanding billions, piracy remains a clear and present danger. According to the 2024 HBR article—“Pro Sports Has a Piracy Problem"—sports rights owners are losing $28 billion in revenue each year. Beyond the loss of revenue, unauthorized streams degrade the fan experience and brand integrity.
That’s why forensic watermarking is gaining traction as a proactive anti-piracy tool. By embedding invisible, traceable identifiers into streams, down to the individual session, content owners and rights holders can identify the source of leaks and take swift action. When paired with geo-fencing, tokenized delivery, and robust DRM, it becomes part of a layered defense strategy that protects not just content, but trust.
From Live to Always-On: Hybrid Workflows Are the New Playbook
Today’s sports broadcasting isn’t just about the live event, it’s about serving fans across live, on-demand, and 24/7 adjacent content. Traditional fixed infrastructure can’t keep up with the scale and flexibility this demands.
That’s why cloud-hybrid workflows are becoming the norm. By combining on-prem production with cloud-based elasticity, broadcasters can support REMI, automate highlight creation, and deliver content globally with greater speed and efficiency. With over 60% of broadcasters now using cloud in live and adjacent workflows, the future is clear: agility wins.
Serving the Fluid Fan
As outlined in reports like The Age of the Fluid Fan by Sports Innovation Lab, today’s sports consumers are not locked into one team, one screen, or one format. They are open to change, empowered to choose, and continuously evolving.
They expect to:
- Pick camera angles in real time
- View live stats overlays or watch from an athlete’s POV
- Join live chat, place in-game bets, or co-watch with friends
- Watch vertical or AR-native streams on mobile
- Discover highlights through social media, not just TV recaps.
This is not a future state, it’s happening now. And the technology to meet these expectations already exists. What’s needed is integration, interoperability, and a mindset shift—from content distribution to experience orchestration.
The Final Whistle
As we move deeper into an IP-based, data-driven, fan-centric era, sports broadcasters must adapt or risk losing relevance. That means embracing low-latency protocols, AI-enhanced encoding, scalable hybrid workflows, and proactive content protection.
The future of sports broadcasting isn’t about bigger rights, it’s about better delivery. And those who can master that will not only stay in the game - they’ll own it.
