NEW YORK—Nielsen’s Gracenote has announced new capabilities for its Gracenote on Sports solution that it says will help TV providers build engagement outside of life games and deliver improved, visually rich sports hub experiences.
More specifically, new enhancements to the Gracenote On Sports solution covering 160+ of the world's most popular sports leagues and competitions in 50+ countries globally, allow TV providers to make sports documentaries, event highlights, game analyses and other related content seamlessly accessible through unified sports hubs. In addition, the improvements provide game, team and athlete imagery that capture sports action and the personalities of favorite players, making user interfaces more visually rich and personalized than ever.
"From casual viewers to passionate fans, consumers are engaging with sports content in every way possible," said Tyler Bell, senior vice president of product at Gracenote. "Platforms have big opportunities to become go-to sports hubs for these valuable users, and Gracenote is uniquely positioned to help them realize these ambitions."
Gracenote On Sports powers universal search capabilities and unique sports hub experiences by delivering enriched sports data, live sports schedules as well as league and team data through a single API. Providing unmatched coverage of the world's most popular sports leagues and competitions, including the NFL, NBA, Premier League and Formula 1, the solution helps TV providers provide experiences that leverage the power of sports to drive viewer engagement and monetization.
The new On Sports capabilities help streaming platforms, CE device-makers and pay TV services adapt to the evolving ways people want to experience sports and stay connected to the competitions, teams and athletes they love. Gracenote said that will strengthen return on investment through deeper user engagement, increased advertising opportunities and improved content library monetization.
To help TV providers leverage the power of sports, Gracenote seamlessly links games to:
- Related content – programming including scripted and documentary TV shows and movies focusing on sports leagues, teams or general sports topics.
- Shoulder content – programming complementing or extending a live sporting event, typically airing just before or after, but also including delayed recap shows.
One particularly promising area for improving viewer engagement is sports documentaries. Total viewing for streaming sports documentaries reached 16.9 million minutes among U.S. viewers in 2024, up nearly 260% from 4.7 million minutes in 2021, according to the 2025 Nielsen Tops of Sports report. At the same time, pre- and post-game shows offering recaps, highlights and analysis are increasingly critical touchpoints for fans and communities.
Based on growing consumer interest in related and shoulder content tied to live sports events, platforms have a significant opportunity to become comprehensive hubs for modern sports experiences. The newest Gracenote On Sports enhancements help customers go beyond game availability so they can deepen fan engagement and increase stickiness. Streamlined integration of Gracenote sports data delivered alongside video data by way of a single API makes the turnkey solution easy to implement.
Gracenote will demo On Sports on an appointment-only basis at CES running January 6 – 8, 2026.
To schedule a meeting, click here.
