Key Takeaways:
- 24/7 digital channels extend the value of live rights by bundling scattered content together and providing a modern form of fan engagement.
- Continuous sports coverage requires more than live broadcasts; it depends on a steady stream of highlights, behind-the-scenes stories, and archive content.
- AI-powered content creation enables rights holders to sustain always-on programming by producing and distributing platform-ready content at scale.
FOX Sports didn’t need to set a benchmark for digital reach in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. The network, which held the English-language broadcast rights for the tournament in the US, was aiming to break its digital record for a specific event: 1.3 billion views, set by the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
So when it reached 1 billion views for World Cup content across its official digital platforms and social media channels, the only surprise was the speed. It happened in just five days. “We expected to get to that mark. I don’t think in a million years we expected to get to that mark in five days,” said Michael Bucklin, SVP of digital at FOX Sports. “I think some of our bets like ‘Always On’ are paying off.”
‘Always On’ is a FOX Sports stream that has been live since the World Cup’s opening match on June 11. Streaming around the clock on foxsports.com, the FOX Sports App, Tubi, and FOX Sports’ official YouTube channel, the digital feed was active throughout the tournament. It offered 39 straight days and approximately 940 hours in total to complement the network’s live match coverage.
The stream was designed to surround blocks of live matches with video-on-demand (VOD) content, such as highlights, social-first clips, behind-the-scenes access, and talent-driven programming. The formula has proved consistently successful. 10 days into the World Cup, FOX Sports surpassed 2 billion views across all social channels, blowing past its record and underscoring that 24/7 digital channels have become a key driver of audience growth.
The CBSN Blueprint
24/7 sports digital channels have been around for a while. CBS pioneered the concept in mainstream media when it launched CBS Sports HQ in 2018. Replicating the model of CBSN, its 24/7 streaming news service, CBS Sports HQ offers nonstop news, highlights, and analysis, while giving viewers the flexibility to control what they watch with VOD functionality.
Building on the success of CBS Sports HQ, which saw a 50% year-over-year increase in viewership in its fifth year, the broadcast network launched CBS Sports Golazo Network, a 24/7 digital channel dedicated to soccer, in 2023. One year later, CBS unveiled a 24-hour Champions League streaming channel, cementing its status as the ultimate destination for soccer fans in the US.
In addition to streaming live matches, both soccer channels rely on highlights, interviews, viral moments, and archive content to attract fans. Once these fans are in the fold, the commercial logic of 24/7 digital channels starts to come into focus.
Sports Properties Adapt
In recent years, sports organizations have taken a page from the media’s playbook. The Bundesliga, for example, introduced a 24/7 streaming channel for fans in the UK and Ireland, which offers live action, including Friday night matches and select Bundesliga 2 games, a rich mix of highlights, interviews, press conferences, and behind-the-scenes content, plus a treasure trove of content from one of the world’s largest digital football archives.
The German Football Association quickly followed suit, launching its own 24/7 offering, DFB.TV, at the end of the 2025-6 season. Available across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the channel provides live coverage of games from a range of competitions, as well as highlight shows, behind-the-scenes segments, and extensive archive content.
“With this offering, we are bringing football in all its diversity even closer to the people,” said Holger Blask, chair of the DFB board. “Content that was previously unavailable or scattered across different platforms is now bundled together. With DFB.TV, the association is sending a clear signal: for greater visibility, for all facets of football, for a modern form of fan engagement.”
The Automation Advantage
As these examples illustrate, the most modern form of fan engagement is a continuous digital experience built around live sport. As organizations launch 24/7 channels to extend the value of their rights, the challenge shifts from distributing content to producing enough of it without overwhelming digital teams.
Doing that requires technology built for scale. AI-powered content creation platforms help organizations instantly transform live and archived footage into multi-format highlights, viral clips, and behind-the-scenes stories that keep audiences engaged around live programming. Because, as FOX Sports’ World Cup coverage reminds us, modern sports coverage is a marathon, not a sprint.
Actionable Insights:
- Plan coverage beyond live matches by building content pipelines around highlights, archives, behind-the-scenes access, and talent-driven programming.
- Treat 24/7 channels as audience growth engines that guide viewers toward streaming services, memberships, and other owned experiences.
- Use AI to produce platform-ready content continuously, so digital teams can sustain always-on coverage without increasing workload.
