Streaming services will account for a fifth of global sports rights spend in 2025, according to research by Ampere Analysis.
Streamers combined spend on sports rights will reach $12.5bn this year, representing 20% of the $64bn total spend.
Much of this growth will be driven by the expanding sports budgets of general entertainment streamers such as Netflix and Amazon, according to Ampere.
However, dedicated sports streaming platform DAZN will maintain its position as the world’s top spender on sports rights.
DAZN will account for one-third of streaming spend on sports in 2025, boosted by its $1bn deal for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. DAZN's share of the global sports rights market will be even higher once the acquisition of Foxtel in Australia completes.
Ampere noted that general entertainment platforms are increasingly turning to sports to drive growth. Amazon is the second top streaming spender, with its share increasing from 18% to 23% following its acquisition of NBA rights from the 2025-26 season onwards. Other major rights held by Amazon include NFL Thursday Night Football in the US and UEFA Champions League in Germany, Italy and the UK.
YouTube TV remains in third place. Its deal for the NFL Sunday Ticket is worth a reported $2bn per season.
Netflix is now the fourth biggest streaming investor in sports rights following its three-year agreement to show Christmas Day NFL games and its $500m per year deal with WWE which started in 2025. Ampere noted that Netflix gained around 1.5m sign-ups in the US following the recent Paul/Tyson boxing match. 80% of these were still active one month later. The streamer signed up almost 700,000 subs for its NFL Christmas Day games.
Danni Moore, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis said: “Over the last five years, streamers’ share of investment in sports rights has increased for two main reasons. The first is the growth of DAZN as a specialist sport streamer. In particular, DAZN has driven investment in top-tier sports rights in major European markets such as Germany, Italy, Spain and most recently France.
“Then, as streaming nears saturation point, general entertainment platforms are adjusting their content investment strategies and have turned to sports as a key part of their subscription growth plans. They are recognising the benefit of acquiring rights to major season-long competitions for both subscriber acquisition and retention. Netflix, Peacock and Paramount all saw the commercial value of acquiring key sporting tournaments and one-off events in 2024 and we expect more of the same in 2025.”
You are not signed in
Only registered users can comment on this article.
Ed Tischler appointed Managing Director of NEP UK
NEP Europe has appointed Ed Tischler as Managing Director of NEP UK.
James Harding to deliver Edinburgh TV Festival’s MacTaggart Lecture
James Harding, the Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and founder of Tortoise Media, is to deliver this year’s The James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, the flagship address of the Edinburgh TV Festival.
 16x9.png)
Disney and ITV strike streaming agreement
The Walt Disney Company and ITV have unveiled a first-of-its-kind initiative to carry a selection of shows from each other’s UK streaming services in a bid to attract new audiences.
IBC2025 Conference to tackle M&E industry’s business-critical challenges
Running across three days, from 12-15 September, the IBC2025 Conference is set to welcome visionary speakers, industry leaders and innovators to tackle some of the biggest talking points across the media and entertainment industry.
UKTV Chief Creative Officer Richard Watsham to depart
Richard Watsham, Chief Creative Officer at UKTV and Global Director of Acquisitions for BBC Studios/UKTV, is stepping down from his roles in September after a 14-year tenure in the business.
