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Key takeaways:
- Established leagues can drive growth by introducing new and innovative formats that create culturally powerful, shareable moments.
- Short-form, personalized content transforms iconic moments into scalable international engagement engines.
- AI-powered content creation tech enables rights holders to scale short-form storytelling in real time without increasing production complexity or cost.
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The rise of new sports leagues in recent years has been well documented. Driven by venture capital and Gen Z-focused strategies, these leagues have become a global phenomenon, disrupting traditional models across all sports. What is less documented is how established organizations themselves have disrupted the industry with a similar playbook: introducing new and innovative formats that capture global audiences.
From the NBA Cup in basketball and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in football to the 4 Nations Face-Off in hockey and the Laver Cup in tennis, these formats increase discoverability, relevance, and engagement. While the trend is a nascent development, the approach isn’t novel. The blueprint was laid out in an event that will celebrate its sixth edition this week: the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
The 2026 WBC guarantees a spectacle of world-class baseball. Team USA’s roster, for example, features 30 players combining for 65 MLB All-Star Game selections. Japan, the reigning champion, will lean on superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Other contenders include the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Whoever wins, it will be a unique experience, and Major League Baseball will be better off for it.
The architecture of a modern classic
First held in 2006, the WBC is a joint operation of MLB and MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association). It is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation as the sport’s official World Championship, which gives it the appropriate aura. “The WBC has been a great way to advance the game because it’s a World Cup competition,” said Jim Small, MLB’s senior VP of international and WBC president. “It helps grow our international engagement.”
According to Small, MLB employs a three-pillar international strategy to ensure long-term engagement:
- Create opportunities for participation in baseball
- Deliver the right content, on the right device, at the right time
- Organize compelling live events
The WBC falls under the last two pillars. The 2026 tournament will be held at four sites (San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tokyo, Japan; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida), reflecting MLB’s commitment to bringing top-tier baseball to diverse locations. As for the content, if previous editions are any indication, the 2026 WBC will provide more than enough moments to draw existing and new fans.
Proof of concept on the biggest stage
Perhaps the most iconic WBC moment came in the 2023 final between the USA and Japan. In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and Japan leading 3-2, the stars aligned for the dream matchup: Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout – two of the greatest players ever and Los Angeles Angels teammates at the time – squared off in one of the more memorable at-bats in recent baseball history.
That at-bat alone recorded more than 27 million views on official YouTube and social media channels. 600 million people worldwide followed the 2023 WBC on social media, and 500 million watched at least part of it. “It was a proof of concept that was 16 years in the making,” said Small. “Each of Japan’s seven games rated over 40 (in viewership metrics). The Super Bowl does 40 in the United States, so that’s seven Super Bowls.”
Following the success of the previous tournament, Netflix acquired the media rights to the 2026 WBC in Japan. In the US, FOX Sports – which aired its first WBC in 2023 – will broadcast all 47 games of this year’s edition on its linear TV channels and streaming apps. MLB, for its part, will rely on personalized coverage to regain audiences that have grown accustomed to consuming sports content on third-party platforms.
Last year, the league launched My Daily Story, a personalized video recap for any fan logged into their MLB account on the app or website. Leveraging generative AI functionality, My Daily Story creates highlight reels based on explicit signals, e.g, data the user provided about their favorite teams and players, and implicit behavior, such as watching certain types of baseball content, to deliver the moments fans want to see most.
From live moments to digital assets
For established sports organizations, promoting exciting formats like the World Baseball Classic is not simply about adding inventory; it’s about creating culturally resonant moments that travel across borders and platforms. Short-form storytelling plays a vital role in this. Iconic at-bats, dugout reactions, and national celebrations are what convert casual observers into engaged fans, long before they ever tune into a full broadcast.
Executing that strategy at scale requires the right infrastructure. AI-powered content creation tech enables rights holders to automatically clip and distribute key moments across every digital touchpoint, while guiding audiences back to owned channels where deeper personalization can take place. This way, when the next unforgettable WBC showdown captures global attention, MLB won’t just gain views; it will convert the attention into lasting audience growth.
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Actionable insights:
- Identify likely high-impact matchups and storylines in advance, and automate workflows so iconic moments can be published within seconds.
- Package highlights in multiple formats to ensure key moments resonate across markets, languages, and platforms.
- Use social distribution as the top of the funnel, but embed clear pathways to apps and websites to deepen engagement.
