Yesterday, Awful Announcing presented the biggest sports media storylines and trends to watch in 2025. Common themes emerged, from insiders paying close attention to ESPN’s impending launch of its direct-to-consumer streaming service called Flagship, to the continued growth of the creator economy and personality-driven media and production companies.
Now, let’s take a look at sports media experts’ big, bold predictions for the next 12 months (Some of the responses have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity).
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Netflix will continue to surprise us. After saying they won’t do something (standup specials, live sports, etc), they often do it and succeed at it. I don’t know if it will happen in 2025 or 2026, but I believe Netflix will eventually enter the daily sports talk space. It just takes a signature name and the ability to move an audience.
— Logan Swaim, Chief Content Officer, The Volume
By the end of 2025, the NFL will create a standalone 17-game international media rights package and Netflix will outbid Apple for those rights.
— Matt Kramer, Co-Head of Sports Media, Creative Artists Agency
Remote sports media studios will win, with traditional setups reserved only for on-site pre- and post-game coverage — think Big Noon Kickoff — and a select few top-tier shows. This significant reduction in operating costs will both open opportunities for newcomers (see Bleav) and rejuvenate the finances of legacy sports media that adapt effectively.
— Bron Heussenstamm, Founder and CEO, Bleav
You will see the continued emergence of newer leagues or sports, which are quite popular either on a global basis or a participation basis, that are going to appear as interesting media categories.
As it relates to that, the streaming players are going to invest in those newer spaces. You’ll see the big players try to identify where growth is going to come from in the medium term and identify leagues, sports, and opportunities to grow new assets and new categories for themselves.
— Andrew Yaffe, CEO, Dude Perfect
We’re starting to get to that next phase of the streaming wars. There is a feeling that the Trump administration is going to be easier on consolidations and moves for businesses. I think we’ll see some big partnerships and consolidations that impact sports media.
— Andrew Marchand, Sr. Sports Media Columnist, The Athletic
The new regime at Paramount is coming in, assuming the deal with Larry Ellison gets approved. That is something to watch. There’s a need there for some consolidation and rationalization of their assets. I would expect the new management, and Jeff Shell specifically, to look at possibly doing a merger with somebody. WBD might be a good candidate. They don’t have a free-to-air broadcast network and they don’t have an NFL relationship, but they have a lot of cable networks. Paramount’s are definitely not as strong. I would not be surprised if Paramount and WBD put their assets together in 2025. They already have a sports relationship around March Madness. Their businesses are complementary.
Along those same lines, there will probably be more re-bundling of DTC services, whether that’s driven by broadband providers or if Venu Sports ever gets off the ground. We’re at the point now where the consumer is starting to realize that something of value was lost in the opportunity to have an all-you-can-eat option that wasn’t as expensive as subscribing to seven or eight different services to get sports and other entertainment programming.
— David Sternberg, Co-Head of Media Consulting, Range Sports
The trend of live sports being watched more on streaming than TV will grow even wider — 75% of live sports will be consumed via streaming.
— Josh Santry, Head of Media Talent, Excel Sports
I can see Netflix doing another significant media rights deal, potentially in tandem with a legacy media company. Whether it’s F1, given their history there, maybe the UFC, given their WWE relationship, or even in golf.
— Doug Perlman, Founder and CEO, Sports Media Advisors
We’ll see immersive fandom take center stage. The sports experience won’t stop at the field. The surrounding moments — memes, social clips, fan-driven commentary — will become just as important. Fans will expect to participate in their fandom, not just consume it.
The biggest shift will be in how limitless digital content allows creators to innovate. The companies that succeed will be the ones pushing boundaries, testing ideas, and connecting fans to sports in ways that haven’t been done before. It’s not just about innovation for its own sake. It’s about creating entirely new experiences that re-imagine what it means to be a fan. In 2025, the traditional sports media giants will still be adapting, while digital-first creators are already thriving in this new era.
— Courtney Hirsch, Chief Operating Officer, Jomboy Media
Watch YouTube. They put out a statistic that overall viewing times for YouTube sports content on television increased over 30% from last year. They have the ability to be a more significant player in sports.
— John Kosner, President, Kosner Media
WWE is poised for an explosive year. With Raw moving to Netflix in January, WWE will instantly transform from one of the world’s biggest sports leagues into one of the largest global entertainment properties. Netflix’s presence in 190 countries, combined with WWE’s international expansion under Nick Khan over the past four years — including introducing international superstars and hosting premier events outside the U.S. — creates a powerful combination.
Creatively, WWE is firing on all cylinders, making this the perfect moment to introduce the product to a massive new audience. All of this momentum positions WWE exceptionally well as its premium live events media rights package heads to market in March 2026.
— Colin Campbell, Head of Development, Omaha Productions
A college athletic program will sell ownership in their program.
— Mark Floreani, Co-Founder and CEO, FloSports
Mark J. Burns has been writing about sports business and media for about a decade. He most recently worked at Morning Consult as a sports analyst and Sports Business Journal where he covered the business of hockey and soccer.
