Key Takeaways:
-With fewer bidders and stagnating value, European football and other leagues are rethinking distribution—turning to DTC models and digital strategies to regain control and financial stability
-Fans struggle to find and pay for content. The key to conversion lies in seamless discovery and access—bridging the gap from social to subscription through better tech
-Forward-thinking leagues like the NBA are already using AI to automate personalized content and drive engagement on owned platforms, unlocking new value beyond traditional media deals
It's been in the cards for a while, and now it's official: a season into a five-year rights deal worth about €400 million annually, France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and DAZN have agreed to part ways. Now, all eyes are on the LFP's next move, as it tries to provide financial certainty for its clubs.
Some industry leaders, though, believe European football as a whole has entered an era where long-term financial certainty will be hard to come by.
For several decades football has relied on a growth in broadcasting rights and a very active transfer market.
"These two characteristics are now being questioned. Broadcasting rights are on a downward trend and the transfer market has reached a ceiling,” he added.
Growth Interrupted: The End of the Rights Boom
While the verdict is still out on the transfer market, domestic broadcasting rights appear to be reaching a plateau. What's been plaguing football's rights market, explained sports media strategist Alessandro Oehy, “is the lack of viable broadcasters that can realistically bid for these rights. With broadcasters consolidating, the competition for these rights packages is less fierce than in the US, subsequently not generating the same upward spiral in value creation.”
With the value of rights packages stagnating, football leagues will have to experiment with alternative distribution models. The LFP, for example, is expected to be the first major European league to go full DTC, as it prepares to launch a direct-to-consumer offering ahead of next season. But even if you don't go it alone, say industry insiders, sports organizations increasingly view DTC platforms as strategic assets.
The question today is less, ‘should you have a direct-to-consumer kind of proposition?’ The answer is always yes. The bigger question is, ‘how do you make it sustainable?’”rn
How Fragmented Media is Impacting Fans
Dellea is one of the authors of Altman Solon's 2024 Global Sports Survey. Drawing on the insights of 220 senior sports executives and over 3,000 fans across the US, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and China, the report emphasizes the need to remain relevant across all fan segments amid fragmented media habits. Key findings include:
-In Europe, only 66% of football fans regularly watch live games
-66% of fans struggle to access their favorite sports, and 56% say they would spend more time watching sports if it were available on their main platform
-43% of fans say they're unwilling to pay for content at current pricing models
Turning these fans into paying customers depends on two things: content discovery and access. While accessibility is simply a matter of offering more flexible pricing options, better discovery is more complex. “Rights owners,” argue the report's authors, “must act urgently by building a balanced path from top-of-the-funnel channels (e.g., social) to paid subscriptions across all relevant content gatekeepers.”
Engineering the Fan Journey With the Right Tech
Finding this path requires, first and foremost, a technology infrastructure. One that can guide fans from channels like social media, search engines, and OTT platforms to O&O channels, where they can be engaged and converted. It should come as no surprise, then, that over 80% of sports executives think O&O channels like league websites, apps, and official fan communities will be increasingly relevant for media rights holders.
Some organizations are already successfully employing such technologies. The report highlights the NBA's partnership with WSC Sports, which allows the league to leverage AI for personalized automated content generation and distribution. The results:
-Since it was relaunched in September 2022, the NBA app has been downloaded more than six million times in Europe and the Middle East (EME)
-In the 2023/4 season, viewership on the NBA app from fans in EME increased by 39% year-over-year
-In the UK, viewership of all live and off-court content on the app has increased by 52% in 2024
-UK users spend an average of an hour a week on the platform – an increase of 24% year-over-year
The AI Advantage: Bridging Free Content and Paid Subscriptions
In an era where traditional media rights are no longer delivering the exponential returns leagues once relied on, the pivot toward direct-to-consumer strategies is essential. But merely launching a DTC platform won’t suffice. Converting casual engagement into committed viewership demands a sophisticated approach that bridges free, discoverable content with premium paid experiences.
This is where AI-powered sports content technology becomes the essential connective tissue, enabling personalized content creation, intelligent distribution across multiple entry points, and seamless pathways to conversion. The industry has already taken note: per Altman Solon’s survey, 62% of sports executives see technology solution providers as the most attractive investment opportunity over the next 3-5 years.
Actionable Insights:
-Start with the fan journey, not the platform. Map how fans discover and consume content, then use that insight to guide where and how you distribute. Social should be a gateway, not a destination
-Invest in technology that shortens time-to-value. From content creation to delivery and monetization, speed and automation are the only way to meet rising fan expectations without scaling costs
-Treat owned platforms as strategic assets, not just destinations. Every interaction on your app, site, or DTC service is a chance to collect data, drive conversion, and build long-term fan value
