Key takeaways:
– 1:1 personalization is the modern expression of relationship marketing, shifting sports from broad messaging to individual fan experiences at scale.
– Unified fan profiles alone aren’t enough; understanding what content fans consume is essential to delivering relevance, driving engagement, and boosting retention.
– AI-powered content creation tech turns every play, moment, and show into data-driven assets that power personalization, loyalty, and long-term value.
When Leonard Berry, a marketing professor at Texas A&M University, coined the term “relationship marketing” in 1983, he didn’t think much of it. He just thought it would make more sense for businesses to focus on serving existing customers rather than spending their entire budget on acquiring new ones. Little did he know that he was laying the foundation for the future of marketing, embodied in the concept of 1:1 personalization.
1:1 personalization is a marketing strategy that tailors experiences and messages to individual customers, treating each person as a “segment of one” rather than a part of a larger group.
It relies on numerous data points, such as purchase history, online behavior, and demographics. These insights are used to create highly relevant content, product recommendations, and other interactions tailored to each customer’s specific interests.
In the AI era, technology is taking 1:1 personalization to the next level. AI decisioning models can recommend content, channels, and timing for each customer, and Gen AI tools enable brands to scale content creation without adding staff. These developments have not escaped the notice of the sports industry. Forward-thinking organizations are leveraging AI to deliver experiences that feel personal to every fan.
And it starts with the richest league in the world – the NFL.
From unified data to personalized journeys
The NFL has been using a centralized data platform to personalize the fan experiences since 2022. In April, just ahead of the 2025 draft, the league teamed up with software company Adobe to scale content creation, marketing, and 1:1 personalization. The partnership is part of the NFL’s Technology Innovation Hub, a new initiative designed to incorporate technology into football and enhance fan engagement.
As part of the partnership, the league utilizes Adobe’s real-time Customer Data Platform (CDP) to create a single, unified view of each fan, including their behaviors, preferences, and interactions with the brand. Leveraging additional Adobe products, the NFL orchestrates and delivers personalized journeys across touchpoints. Then, based on the analytics the software provides, the marketing team can continuously refine every fan’s journey to drive stronger engagement.
This level of insight has proved vital. A good example of that was the release of the 2025 schedule in May. “We orchestrated communications across the league and all 32 clubs, delivering personalized content and tailored offers based on each fan’s favorite team,” said Josh Rabenovets, vice president of fan engagement at the NFL. “What could have been a routine, transactional announcement became a shareable cultural moment that drove record engagement, higher ticket sales, and revenue for many clubs.”
Personalization at SportsCenter scale
Delivering personalized content to fans of a specific league is one thing; doing it across all sports is another.
That’s what ESPN learned when it launched its new direct-to-consumer app, which includes a product called “SportsCenter for You.” Having the world’s largest inventory of sports content, the network’s executives quickly discovered, isn’t enough to provide tailored programming to all their subscribers.
“The big question became, well, do we produce enough videos to do this seven days a week for as many fans as we have in the app every day? The answer was no to that,” said Joshua Barbarotta, senior director of digital video content at ESPN. “So we started working with WSC Sports, and our partnership with them is really what has made this possible because they’re able to scale up our entire operation.”
WSC’s AI-powered platform enables rights holders, among other things, to automate the creation of short-form videos. ESPN’s digital content team, which had used the technology to generate clips from more than 20 sports before launching its DTC app, ingested another dozen to the pipeline, and added 25 studio shows and self-produced video segments from 162 writers and editors to fill the content gap for SportsCenter for You.
Those efforts are already translating into measurable gains.
“We absolutely see that there’s higher engagement, there’s higher time spent with content that’s personalized for team fan bases,” said Barbarotta. “And we see a really high retention rate as far as SC for You is concerned, which means fans are consuming it one day and coming back the next day to consume it again.”
Turning every clip into insight
WSC’s platform takes this evolution a step further. Beyond scaling production, it enriches each organization’s CDP with real-time content metadata, tagging and indexing every play, interview, and studio moment with precision. This provides a deeper understanding of individual viewing patterns, allowing rights holders to map fan intent and deliver experiences tailored to each supporter’s exact tastes.
As fan expectations shift toward 1:1 personalization, adopting AI-powered content and data platforms is no longer optional for rights holders that want to stay relevant. Organizations that embrace these tools can deliver truly personal moments at scale, turning everyday interactions into lasting loyalty. In many ways, it’s a return to the heart of relationship marketing, where knowing the fan is the foundation of keeping them.
Actionable insights:
– Tag, index, and analyze what fans actually watch to inform programming, distribution, and personalization decisions.
– Use behavioral insights to tailor clips, formats, and timing to individual preferences, not broad audiences.
– Leverage AI to scale clip creation and distribution so content teams can focus on strategy, storytelling, and creative differentiation.
