A collaborative piece by Colin Moran, vice president for production products at video distribution firm LTN.
The power dynamics in sports media are evolving. The reshaping of regional sports networks (RSNs) in the US, growing direct-to-consumer ambitions from major leagues and teams, and fragmentation across linear, streaming, and digital platforms are forcing rights owners to rethink long-established distribution strategies.
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For years, the industry chased high-value, exclusive broadcast deals. Today, many rights owners are asking a different question: how can we create more value from the same live event, delivered across multiple rights partners?
At the same time, some of the fastest-growing sports properties are taking a different approach. Creator-led brands and new variations of popular sports have built highly engaged fan communities by distributing content broadly, experimenting with interactive viewing formats, influencer streams and tailored experiences that combine sports, entertainment and even comedy.
Traditional rights models aren't disappearing, but the playbook is opening up. New production and distribution strategies are demonstrating that reach, engagement and value increasingly come from flexibility rather than exclusivity.
Why leagues are rethinking rights models.
Exclusive agreements will always play an important role in sports media. They deliver predictable revenue for sports properties and drive subscription growth for broadcasters and streaming platforms. But many leagues are becoming more selective about where exclusivity creates value, and where it creates limitations.
Rights holders are pursuing more flexible distribution strategies that bring content to multiple platforms in different formats across global markets. Emerging leagues with lighter, digital-native teams are planning for this reality from the outset. They're customising feeds for multiple buyers while minimising the operational complexity traditionally associated with live sports broadcasting.
With more sports content competing for attention than ever before, simply securing distribution is no longer enough. Rights owners increasingly need to create experiences that audiences actively choose to engage with.
That's one reason newer sports properties – few of which rely solely on subscription-driven exclusivity – have generated so much attention.
The Savannah Bananas have built a business reportedly valued at around $500 million by treating content as an audience growth engine, blending entertainment-first storytelling, social media, creator collaborations and fan participation around live events. Meanwhile, Kings League has shown how creator-led broadcasts and video game-inspired viewing experiences can attract younger audiences that traditional sports models sometimes struggle to reach.
It doesn't make sense for every league to replicate these approaches. But there are valuable lessons in how they think about access, audience engagement and production style.
Production control is becoming a competitive advantage
One of the most important lessons emerging from these newer models is around production control.
Creator-led broadcasts, alternate commentary feeds, influencer watchalongs, localised versions and gaming-inspired viewing experiences are creating new ways for fans to engage. But none of this is possible without consistency at the production layer.
Whether leagues choose to build capabilities internally or work with trusted partners, maintaining control over production quality is becoming increasingly important. Before content can be customised for different audiences, rights buyers or territories, there needs to be a reliable, consistent production framework that every version can be built from.
Some of the leagues creating the most value today are producing content more efficiently than ever, then using automation and live event versioning workflows to create multiple tailored outputs simultaneously.
In practice, once a high-quality primary production exists, alternate commentary teams, localised graphics, regional advertising, alternate viewing experiences and platform-specific requirements can all be supported from a single production source.
For rights owners, that changes the economics of content distribution. Rather than creating separate productions for different partners, it's about creating once and distributing many times over.
Customisation is part of the package
Broadcasters and streaming platforms want content that feels relevant to their audiences. That may mean local language commentary, creator-focused streams, regional sponsorship opportunities, tailored graphics packages or platform-specific viewing experiences.
For growing leagues pursuing expansion, buyers are often willing to invest more when content can easily be adapted for their audience, rather than receiving a generic world feed.
This is becoming particularly relevant as leagues explore a broader mix of distribution opportunities. YouTube, FAST channels and local broadcast partnerships are increasingly being used alongside traditional rights agreements to expand reach and build audience engagement. In the US, the ongoing RSN evolution has also created new opportunities for local broadcasters and station groups to secure sports rights.
All of these buyers and platforms have different commercial, branding and audience requirements. The challenge for rights owners is efficiently preparing that content for downstream monetisation as necessary, without significantly increasing production costs or operational complexity.
The industry's accelerating shift from satellite to IP distribution is also playing an important role. Legacy distribution models were built around delivering a single feed to a defined set of destinations. Today's rights environment demands much greater flexibility. IP-based workflows make it easier to customise content for different markets, support new distribution partners and scale across platforms without dramatically increasing operational complexity.
The bottom line: customisation is evolving from an operational consideration into a commercial one. A single production investment should now support multiple rights agreements, audience segments and monetisation strategies simultaneously.
Some leagues will bring more production and distribution capabilities in-house. Others will continue to rely on external partners. Either way, the ability to efficiently create, customise and distribute multiple versions of the same event is becoming a meaningful competitive advantage.
