The global value of sports media rights reached a record $65.82 billion in 2026, up 15 percent on 2025, according to the SportBusiness Global Media Report 2026, published on Wednesday 14 October. The figure was lifted by two major events in the 2026 calendar: the soccer World Cup in North America and the Winter Olympics.
The report, covered by City AM and carried by Reuters, puts the two-year comparison in context. From $62.4 billion in 2024, the year of the Paris Summer Olympics, growth to 2026 was 5 percent. Over four years the worldwide market has risen 20 percent, and SportBusiness projects it will reach $66.3 billion in 2028.
The near-term picture is less smooth. The report forecasts the global value will drop to $62.2 billion in 2027, a reminder that headline records in even years are partly a function of event cycles rather than steady underlying growth.
Concentration is the report's central theme. The United States now accounts for 53.9 percent of the global total, up from 46 percent in 2022, helped by the NBA and UFC renewals and the NFL's contracts. Europe's five biggest markets are together worth a third of the US value.
At competition level, the NFL's $10 billion-a-year package accounts for 19 percent of total value, followed by the NBA at $7 billion and the Premier League at $5 billion. American sports, most notably the NFL and NBA, account for 30 percent of global media rights value between them, while the Premier League represents 7.8 percent.
Football remains the top driver of media rights, comprising 39 percent of value generated by the top 10 sports, followed by American football. But SportBusiness Media editor Joseph Perry told the report's launch that growth is not evenly spread: outside the top 10, every other sport shares one percent of the media rights market.
The warning signs sit in Europe. The collapse of TV deals in French football and the struggles of the Italian and Spanish leagues to monetise international audiences have raised questions about direction of travel. England's Independent Football Regulator noted in its draft State of the Game report, published this week, that the value of the next round of deals for English clubs is uncertain and that competition organisers may face challenges when they next go to market.
Why it matters
Media rights are the main revenue source for all major sports, so where the money pools shapes which leagues can invest, which markets attract rights fees and which properties face pressure. A record headline masks a forecast dip in 2027 and a widening gap between the top 10 competitions and everything else.
Builder angle
The one-percent problem is the opening. If every sport outside the top 10 shares a single percent of the market, there is demand for rights packaging, distribution and monetisation tools aimed at mid-tier properties, from streaming-first deals to regional and niche sport aggregators. Builders should also watch the 2027 dip: rights holders facing a down year may be more open to new distribution models and direct-to-consumer experiments.
What to watch next
The final Independent Football Regulator State of the Game report and what it means for English club broadcast income How the forecast $62.2bn 2027 figure holds up as event-cycle effects wash out Whether French football's TV deal collapse finds a resolution and what it signals for other European leagues Details of the NBA and UFC renewals and how they reshape the US rights market
Sources
- www.cityam.com Source checked 2026-10-15
- www.straitstimes.com Source checked 2026-10-15
- valor.globo.com Source checked 2026-10-15