Key takeaways:
– Non-live content is becoming a core value driver: as viewing habits evolve, highlights, clips, and other digital formats are increasingly central to engaging fans beyond live broadcasts.
– Younger audiences, particularly fans under 35, spend significantly more time with non-live formats, making short-form and on-demand content essential for growth.
– AI-powered content creation platforms allow rights holders to scale short-form production, turning live moments into continuous, multi-platform fan engagement.
The American author and cultural critic Chuck Klosterman once tried to explain what stands at the core of the attraction to “liveness” in sports. “We don’t crave live sporting events because we need immediacy,” he wrote. “We crave them because they represent those (increasingly rare) circumstances in which the entire spectrum of possibility is in play. They’re the last scraps of mass society that are totally unfixed.”
That quality ensured that premium live sports remained appointment television long after streaming had rendered the term obsolete. Driven by sports’ unique ability to attract large, dedicated audiences in a fragmented landscape, media rights prices have experienced a massive, long-term increase, with live sports generating most of the value in any broadcasting rights deal.
Now, however, there are signs that this bonanza may be coming to an end. An analysis by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group revealed that while the global value of sports media rights increased at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1% between 2014 and 2019, growth is expected to slow to just 2.7% from 2021 to 2027. And a big part of that is the growing share of non-live content, especially among younger fans.
Why Non-Live Is Gaining Ground
According to the 7th edition of Altman Solon’s Global Sports Survey, non-live sports content increasingly carries standalone value. Drawing on the insights of 250 sports executives and 6,000 fans across the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France, the study reveals that as sports consumption continues to grow, non-live formats complement live broadcasts, creating new opportunities to monetize assets beyond traditional games/events.
Key findings include:
– Sports viewing remains strong across age groups, most notably among fans aged 25-34, where total consumption is the highest of any cohort and has increased 6% compared to three to five years ago.
– Younger fans are less likely to watch full live games: only 39% of 18-24-year-olds typically watch an entire game/event, compared with 61% among fans aged 65 and over.
– 18-34-year-olds spend nearly 3x as much time on non-live formats as on live sport, elevating their role in capturing younger fans’ attention and monetizing that engagement.
“Media consumption,” conclude the report’s authors, “is no longer anchored in traditional TV and a live-first model. Format preferences now vary widely by age group. This requires sports to evolve into a multi-format, multi-channel ecosystem, where each format must stand on its own and non-live formats are built and valued in their own right.”
How Rights Holders Are Adapting
Some rights holders are already embracing this approach. Streaming giant DAZN, for example, provides viewers with a wide range of non-live content – including shows, documentaries, highlights, and more – and is constantly adding to its offering. In 2025, DAZN partnered with Manchester City to create a dedicated environment for non-live club content, and integrated FIFA+, FIFA’s own streaming service, into its platform.
The next step in the partnership between DAZN and FIFA will be relaunching FIFA+ as the new “Global Home of Football” this year. The new service, which will be available on DAZN’s platform, intends to combine live and on-demand top-tier football content, highlights, and exclusive behind-the-scenes access from more than 100 men’s and women’s national teams, while delivering an experience tailored to fans’ individual preferences.
Industry leaders have endorsed this strategy. “The current media landscape – with shifting audience habits, plateauing media revenues, and challenging socio-economic factors – means that no value can be left on the table,” said Tim Lunn, media rights director at Deloitte’s Sports Business Group. “The next generation of successful rightsholders will recognise this and be best able to future-proof their property in the long-term.”
AI and the New Content Workflow
While the thrill of live competition remains the heartbeat of sports, the way fans engage with it is evolving. As attention increasingly flows toward short-form storytelling delivered across various digital platforms, non-live content is becoming a powerful companion to the live product. Rights holders that recognize this shift can extend the lifespan of every game, transforming fleeting moments into ongoing stories that keep fans connected between events.
Turning that vision into reality requires the ability to produce and distribute content at scale. AI-powered content creation platforms enable organizations to automatically transform live footage into highlights, trending clips, and snackable narratives in multiple formats. By fueling channels with a steady stream of engaging moments, rights holders can ensure that live drama and non-live storytelling work together, keeping the full spectrum of possibilities in play.
Actionable insights:
– Build a consistent pipeline of non-live content by repurposing live moments into highlights, recaps, and behind-the-scenes clips across digital platforms.
– Prioritize mobile-first formats to capture younger audiences who increasingly engage with sports through snackable content rather than full broadcasts.
– Use AI-powered tools to automate content creation and distribution, ensuring timely, scalable delivery of engaging assets across all fan
