About one third of the way through the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Fox Sports is assessing the first two weeks of coverage in the quadrennial tournament. As the host U.S. broadcaster, Fox Sports is working out of the International Broadcast Center at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, where HBS, (Host Broadcaster Services). The facility serves as HBS's global broadcast operations center for 180 broadcasters covering the tournament taking place across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the USA, June 11-July 19.

As expected, the technical operations have run smoothly with the biggest challenges being pure logistics and preparing for the unexpected, according to Kevin Callahan, senior vice president of field operations and engineering for Fox Sports.

“The biggest challenge is by far the weather and travel in North America and the size and enormity of the coverage,” he said. Criss-crossing between stadiums on the west coast to the east coast in one day while managing coverage of multiple matches simultaneously is no easy task but Callahan believes the network has created the kind of memorable event that resonates with soccer fans.

“What we are bringing to the viewer is truly amazing,” he said. “We want to be where the fans are, we want to create that sense of FOMO for fans—if you're not out at the matches, you're missing the big party of this tournament.”

NEVER ENOUGH
In broadcast, one can never have enough redundancy and that philosophy extends to the World Cup like perhaps no other event, especially one played in the middle of summer when weather plays such an important role, from whether a game is played on schedule or technical or on-air talent have to travel from city to city.

“We have plans in place for every scenario that we can think of,” Callahan said. "I have a firm belief, if you have one, you have none; if you have two, you have one. So, when it comes to equipment redundancy, we have that in place. We have some personnel redundancy, but we also have backup plans when it comes to travel.”

One area that Callahan noted was the impact of construction on maintaining connections.

“It’s construction season in the summer in the U.S., particularly in northern routes, and we've certainly dealt with our fair share of fiber cuts,” Callahan said, adding that none of those cuts have resulted in the loss of signal “because of the diversity that our network engineering and architecture team has put in place.”

All matches have commentators in-venue, but Fox Sports’ studio show travels to venues across the three countries as well, giving Fox a presence inside each stadium while keeping much of the production engine in familiar facilities.

Fox Sports is leaning on its HRP (Home Run Productions) workflows for both its match and studio coverage. Upgraded for the World Cup, HRP’s REMI infrastructure is a standards-based IP workflow that uses Appear’s X platform to support both JPEG XS and low-latency HEVC on a single platform.

Although the matches themselves are produced by HBS on behalf of FIFA, Fox picks up the feed at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and sends it to production facilities in L.A.

The link between traveling studio teams and the L.A.-based hub includes Fox’s BRISK systems, which Callahan describes as ST 2110-based flypacks that integrate with the company’s permanent facilities, with JPEG XS encoding from Appear used to support low-latency feeds from venues back to the control rooms.

In practical terms, the model allows Fox to keep the live feel of a stadium production without having to replicate the same full-scale setup in every city. Commentators and hosts can remain close to the action, while core production staff work from a consistent base.

'MASTERS OF RESILIENCY'
When the HBS opened last month, FIFA President Gianni Infantino hailed the facility as "the most technologically advanced and top of the art international broadcast center that the world has ever seen."

Callahan sang the praises of HBS as well.

“They truly are masters of resiliency and redundancy as well—they have a plan for everything,” Callahan said. “The signals that they've been able to provide us in the world have been, the signals themselves look pristine. The super slow mo replays that they've added more of this year have been fantastic and really help share the emotion of the tournament.”

Callahan was particularly happy with HBS’s increased attention to audio.

"Over the years, we've been commenting to HBS that we want more field effects—we want to hear more of what's actually going on on the pitch,” Callahan said. “One of the challenges that you face when it comes to soccer is just the sheer size of the pitch and the distance you can actually put a microphone from where the sound is coming from. HBS has done a fantastic job at being able to capture those close ball effects a lot better, and what's going on on the pitch a lot better, and I think this tournament they've nailed it more than anything.”

Since early May, Fox Sports has produced all its content in HDR, and Callahan noted the progress the network has made on the standard.

“Fox switched our entire facility to HDR for the first time, so everything that we're doing in the building is coming natively as HDR, Callahan said. “In the past, when we've done these events, [some of] our studio programming would have originated in SDR. So this is the first time that truly everything is HDR.”

Having a consistent look throughout the expanded 104-match tournament has been a goal from the first day and Callahan says HBS’s role is crucial in this respect.

“You'll be hard pressed to be able to tell the difference between one vs. the other when it comes to the quality of replays, the quality of coverage, they're all consistent, which is really what you want.”

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup moved into the 32-team knockout stage, Fox Sports said viewer interest in the tournament is still strong.

Fox’s June 19 coverage of four matches set an English-language record for the largest full-day audience of men’s World Cup coverage in the U.S., the network said.

The United States-Australia match attracted 16.217 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched English-language group stage telecast in the U.S. ever, followed by 9.174 million average viewers (10.548 million peak viewers) for Scotland-Mexico.

The day also saw 8.741 million viewers (9.894 million peak viewers) for Brazil-Haiti and 2.752 million viewers (3.157 million peak viewers) for Turkey-Paraguay.

Team USA’s 2-0 defeat of Australia had a peak audience of 21.219 million and was the top-rated Friday-afternoon telecast on broadcast TV since Fox’s Christmas Day Minnesota Vikings-New Orleans Saints NFL telecast in 2020.

It was also the second-most-watched U.S. men’s national team game since the U.S.-Paraguay group-stage World Cup match on June 12.

NEW YORK—Nielsen’s newest edition of the Ad Supported Gauge shows that the total share of ad-supported TV is holding steady in Q1 2026, representing nearly 73% of overall TV viewing while streaming captured a record share of ad-supported TV viewing.

In the quarter, streaming captured a record-high 46.6% share of ad-supported TV, driven by seasonal events including NBCU’s Super Bowl simulcast, Olympics coverage on Peacock, Amazon’s NFL playoff games, and additional episodes of blockbuster series like Stranger Things on Netflix, Landman on Paramount+, and The Pitt on HBO Max.

Overall, sports continue to be a driving force behind the consistently high share of ad supported TV. The fourth quarter, with its blockbuster sports schedule, retained the high water mark for share of ad supported TV, but there is less than a 1.8 share point difference between the highest and lowest quarter.

Coming off a five-quarter high in Q4, broadcast captured a 28.2% share of ad-supported TV viewing in Q1, down 1.4 share points from last quarter and down 0.5 points year-over-year.

Cable rebounded to a 25.2% share (up 0.4 points from Q4), driven by the February 2026 Olympics and its traditional March Madness ratings surge.

In releasing the data, Nielsen noted that the published version of The Ad Supported Gauge has not migrated to the ARF DASH-based media related universe estimates which is planned for the fall. This is significant because this approach, while consistent with previous months of the Gauge, will have different results than production data.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Telemundo said an average of 2.3 million viewers have watched some of their coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup during the competition’s first two weeks, up 277% from the same perioid during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Peacock and Telemundo are the exclusive Spanish-language streaming platforms for the 2026 World Cup. Fox Sports holds the English-language rights to the competition, which runs June 11 through July 19.

Through the first 40 matches, the Average Minute Audience (AMA) across Telemundo and Peacock streaming platforms has averaged 2.3 million viewers, up 277% from the same stage of the 2022 World Cup (622,000 AMA). AMA is defined as the average number of viewers watching the stream in any given minute of the telecast.

Several variables drove the viewership increase, not the least of which is that marquee live matches are being streamed during primetime as the tournament is in North America. Also, Peacock now has a much larger subscriber base at 46 million, more than double the roughly 20 million it had in 2022.

Total Audience Delivery (TAD) over the first 40 World Cup matches averaged 5.5 million viewers, up 141% from 2022. To date, 19 matches have delivered a Total Audience Delivery of more than 5 million viewers, compared to just two matches at the same point in the 2022 tournament.

TAD measures the entire audience across every single platform combined—traditional broadcast television (Telemundo), cable, and all digital streaming platforms (Peacock and apps).

The June 19 U.S.-Australia match delivered TAD of 6.8 million, up 46% from the U.S.’s second Group Stage match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 against England (4.7 million). The match ranks as the second most-watched U.S. Men’s FIFA World Cup match ever in Spanish.

Audience engagement remains at historic highs, with 26.2 billion total minutes consumed across Telemundo broadcast, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms through the first 40 matches of the tournament, already surpassing the 22 billion total minutes consumed during the entirety of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Spanish, Telemundo said.

Fox Sports, the host broadcaster for the World Cup in the U.S. has also reported record ratings in the early days of the event, with viewership of 18.4 million for the first U.S. men’s game against Paraguay, making it the most-watched World Cup in U.S. history. The second U.S. men’s match against Australia attracted 14.78 million overall viewers on Fox.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup continues across Fox, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app through July 19.

In Australia, the patch bay is called a tail board. In the United Kingdom, the engineer responsible for matching cameras is often called a “racker” rather than a shader.

At the FIFA World Cup, those differences disappear remarkably fast.

The world’s largest sporting event brings together hundreds of broadcast professionals from different countries, cultures and technical traditions. Within days, engineers from Australia, England, the United States and beyond must operate as a single crew delivering one of the most recognizable sounds in sports.

They arrive speaking slightly different technical languages. The same piece of equipment or role can have multiple names. Yet by kickoff, those differences largely vanish. The audience hears one broadcast, not the dozens of production cultures working behind it.

What viewers remember is the roar after a goal, the tension before a penalty kick, the swell of a national anthem and the eruption of a stadium after a dramatic winner. They remember how the World Cup feels. Audio is a major part of that feeling.

Australian broadcast veteran Tim Stapleton, audio guarantee for Host Broadcast Services (HBS) in Kansas City, is one of the people responsible for creating that experience. A veteran of UFC, cricket, combat sports in the Middle East and the recent Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, this is his first World Cup. The scale stood out immediately.

"The World Cup is unique because of the sheer number of moving parts," he said.

Big Event, Big Undertaking
Commentary facilities are handled by a completely separate company, with 10 dedicated booths inside the stadium. Outside, the production compound fills a parking lot with mobile rack rooms and support units from multiple vendors.

The biggest difference from a normal match is the atmosphere. “The crowd makes it sound like a magical moment, not a regular weekly game,” Stapleton said. “You can tell it is something special.”

HBS deploys a standardized audio plan across all venues while adapting to each stadium's characteristics. In Kansas City, the bowl design allows crowd noise to rise naturally, giving the mix team exceptionally clean audience capture.

Capturing that atmosphere requires far more than the standard soccer microphone package. The foundation remains familiar: pitch microphones positioned around the field to capture ball strikes, player movement and referee whistles, along with microphones mounted on cameras to follow the action.

Beyond that foundation, the World Cup expands significantly. Additional crowd microphones and immersive audio arrays are deployed throughout the venue to capture the atmosphere that defines the tournament. In Kansas City, ambient microphone arrays are positioned on the roof, camera deck, and pitch level, allowing the team to capture everything within the roar of the stadium.

The goal isn't simply to make the crowd louder. It's to make viewers feel present.

GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (or, FIFA is calling it during the tournament, Kansas City Stadium) presents a unique advantage in that regard. Stapleton noted that the stadium's bowl design allows crowd noise to rise naturally through the venue, creating excellent opportunities to capture clean audience reaction.

A Mix That Tells a Story
For Stapleton, however, the technical design is only part of the equation. His approach to mixing is rooted in storytelling. Rather than simply balancing levels, he actively follows the action around the field, searching for sounds that draw viewers deeper into the match. The crowd remains a constant emotional foundation while individual moments are allowed to breathe naturally. "You're telling a story," he said.

Goals are allowed to build organically rather than exaggerated artificially. As the action moves around the field, microphones mounted on handheld cameras, Steadicams and other mobile systems help bring viewers closer to the moments they are seeing on screen. There is even a microphone mounted on the referee, though it is only used during specific review situations.

The Lionel Messi hat trick in Kansas City was a perfect example. “The reaction inside the stadium was immediate and overwhelming,” Stapleton said. Moments like that are exactly why so much effort is placed on crowd capture. The goal isn't simply to hear the reaction; it's to transport viewers into the stadium and allow them to experience the emotion of the moment alongside the fans in attendance.

The technology behind those moments may be sophisticated, but for many of the visiting engineers, the most memorable part of the World Cup has been adapting to life in the United States.

For Felix Harris, an HBS A2 from London with extensive Premier League and Club World Cup experience, the technical approach feels familiar, just on a larger scale. American stadiums, compounds, and travel distances are noticeably bigger than what he's accustomed to in the U.K.

"It's really tomato-tomah-to as far as nomenclature goes," Harris said. "But it's definitely a bit more." A lot more.

Andrew Lilley, another U.K.-based HBS A2, pointed to one practical difference: U.K. vehicle-length restrictions limit how much equipment can fit in a mobile unit. American trucks simply have more room, allowing for larger technical footprints and expanded microphone deployments. “A good tech sheet keeps everyone on the same page,” Lilley said.

Teamwork Comes Quickly
While terminology and workflows may vary, crews quickly find common ground. According to Stapleton, the real key to building a successful crew has nothing to do with technology.

“The first few days are essential,” he said. Crews learn each other’s strengths. They figure out how people communicate. They discover who works best in which roles. Shared meals, a drink after work and long production days help transform a group of strangers into a functioning team. “You spend so much time together that you become a family.”

Harris described the welcome from U.S. crews as warm and accommodating. Lilley joked about adjusting to the food, the lack of public transportation and a level of humidity that felt different from anything he experiences at home. “You do not do green vegetables in the States,” he joked. “And everything is on a bun.”

Stapleton has been impressed by Kansas City itself. “The best part is the locals,” he said. "Everyone has been friendly and willing to help.”

By kickoff, the terminology has been sorted out. The accents have become familiar. The workflows have aligned. Engineers who arrived from different continents are now focused on a single objective, helping billions of viewers feel connected to a match happening thousands of miles away.

Shared meals, long production days and countless hours spent solving problems together have transformed a group of strangers into a crew. The microphones, trucks and technology make that possible. The people make it memorable.

Together, they create the sound of the World Cup.

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Clear-Com has announced the successful deployment and testing of FreeSpeak Cell by RTL Deutschland during a live event production at Germany’s Nürburgring race circuit. The test validated the system’s ability to deliver reliable, low-latency communications across both private and public 5G networks, demonstrating the potential of cellular-based intercom workflows for future broadcast operations, the company reported.

Conducted in collaboration with RTL Deutschland and supported by Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network expertise and connectivity, the proof of concept demonstrated how FreeSpeak Cell can extend communications coverage across large-scale production environments by leveraging existing 5G infrastructure. The test integrated with RTL's existing communications ecosystem and provided stable connectivity across areas that would traditionally require multiple DECT antennas or additional infrastructure.

“For us at RTL, the flexibility of our production workflows is one of our top priorities,” said Jens Schilder, Project-Engineer at RTL Deutschland. “The successful test at the Nürburgring proves that integrating intercom solutions into 5G infrastructures efficiently bridges the last mile of wireless communication. Thanks to FreeSpeak Cell technology, we were able to ensure stable communications coverage across almost the entire Grand Prix circuit, the paddock, and additional production areas without relying on complex infrastructure. This is a decisive step toward fully mobile remote productions that demand the highest standards of latency and reliability.”

By leveraging 5G connectivity, RTL achieved clear audio quality and reliable communications coverage across almost the entire Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit, as well as the paddock and additional production areas including Hatzenbach.

Key results from the text included:

• Successful operation across private campus and public 5G networks
• Extended communications coverage using existing 5G infrastructure
• Integration with RTL's established communications workflow
• Validation of cellular-based intercom technology for live production environments

“The partnership with RTL Deutschland shows our commitment to implementing innovative solutions directly in real-world applications,” added Alex Hemme, sales manager DACH at Clear-Com. “The market demands scalable systems that reduce operating costs while increasing freedom of movement for production teams. FreeSpeak Cell delivers exactly that kind of flexibility and investment security. Demonstrating these capabilities under the demanding conditions of the Nürburgring sends a strong signal to the entire broadcast industry.”

CENTENNIAL, Colo.—Mobile TV Group (MTVG) today launched its full-stack MTVG Production Platform, a comprehensive solution covering every stage of a live broadcast, from on-site capture and production through contribution, media control and final distribution.

Located at the Mountain Media Center, the MTVG Production Platform was built to deliver through a single, unified partner what previously required multiple vendors and a patchwork of systems.

“What we’ve built at the Mountain Media Center isn’t just a facility; it’s the cornerstone of a complete production platform. From the mobile unit through contribution, media control, and all the way to distribution, every piece is connected and purpose-built to work together, for better performance and cost efficiency,” said Nick Garvin, CEO, Mobile TV Group. “Teams and leagues no longer need to stitch together a dozen vendors to get on air. We built this because the industry needs it right now, and the Angels partnership shows exactly what’s possible when you have the full platform behind you.”

The MTVG Production Platform plays an integral role in the daily success of Angels Broadcast Television. In late March, the Angels partnered with MTVG to stand up a complete broadcast network from scratch in one month. Leveraging every layer of the platform, MTVG delivered a fully operational, end-to-end production and distribution solution for the Angels, with the first game airing May 1, 2026.

“As plans for a new broadcast network moved from concept to reality this past spring, we identified MTVG's Production Platform as the best solution for Angels Broadcast Television,” said Molly Jolly, president, Angels Baseball LP. “They leveraged every layer of their platform to provide a fully operational, end-to-end solution in a month. It is an incredible partnership, and the MTVG team proved they are a unified, trusted partner who supported our objectives and positioned us to continue delivering baseball games to our fans.”

The MTVG Production Platform operates across four interconnected capability areas, delivering comprehensive live media capabilities through specialized divisions, including content and production, contribution, media control and centralized production and distribution services.

One year after opening its doors, the Mountain Media Center has become one of the most capable live production facilities in the country. The 300,000-square-foot, Class A facility, located near the Denver Tech Center provides the infrastructure that makes the full-stack platform possible.

The platform includes:

• More than 30+ mobile units
• Over 70 live media control pods
• Two technical operations centers (TOCs)
• 25 Cloud control rooms built nationally
• 24 centralized cloud control stations
• Four Edge/REMI rooms for flexible remote production
• Redundant power stations serving power
• Four data halls with uninterruptible power supplies and redundant generators
• Four satellite uplinks and six satellite downlinks
• Hundreds of fiber strands from multiple providers
• Capable of operating entirely off-grid without external power
• 30 minutes from Denver International Airport; few natural disaster risks

More information is available on the company’s website.

CHESEAUX-SUR-LAUSANNE, Switzerland, and PHOENIX, Ariz.—Nagravision has launched Nagra Venturi, a new intelligence-led streaming security offering that helps service providers and rights holders detect threats, combat piracy, and safeguard revenue.

Nagra Venturi brings Nagravision’s streaming security capabilities together under a single intelligence-led model, shifting anti-piracy from fragmented, reactive tools to coordinated, data-driven offering.

“With AI in the hands of pirates, the market has reached an inflection point,” said Morten Solbakken, executive vice president and COO at Nagravision. “As piracy becomes faster, more automated, and increasingly intelligent, the industry needs a new approach. Nagra Venturi is built to fight AI with AI, giving operators and rights holders the ability to move faster and with greater precision, providing the clarity to see the full picture, the focus to target the threats that matter, and the impact to protect revenue and the audience experience.”

The new offering is designed to address the fact that today’s pirate operations are automated and increasingly AI-assisted, scaling illegal services globally within minutes and targeting live sports during the narrow window when content is most valuable. That has put operators and rights holders in the difficult position of managing growing volumes of data and alerts, without clarity on which actions will make the biggest difference.

Nagra Venturi answers that challenge by transforming security data into prioritized, decisive action. It aggregates and analyzes data from across the streaming ecosystem to create a real-time view of piracy activity, identifies the highest-value threats, and coordinates targeted intervention where it will have the greatest business impact. Rather than reacting to every signal, teams can focus on the threats that matter most to their business.

Through its managed service option, Nagra Venturi includes Nexus, the Nagra Anti-Piracy Center, where analysts coordinate monitoring, intelligence, investigation, and enforcement against a global view of piracy activity. Because Nagravision tracks the wider ecosystem rather than a single network, it can uncover pirate infrastructure and leaked content that individual operators may never see, then coordinate disruption across multiple points at once to maximize impact. Individual solutions, including forensic watermarking and multi-DRM, remain available as standalone solutions within the Nagra Venturi portfolio.

“For more than 30 years, Nagravision has protected the world’s most valuable content,” adds Solbakken. “Built on that heritage—and informed by decades of front-line anti-piracy intelligence—Nagra Venturi moves content protection from a reactive, tool-based model to a proactive, intelligence-led one designed for today’s piracy landscape. Nagravision is proud to be leading the charge to help its customers demonstrate the impact of their anti-piracy strategy—one that proves its value in commercial terms, not just technical ones.”

To learn more about Nagra Venturi, visit nagra.vision.

New data from Nielsen shows the New York Knicks triumph over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals attracted the largest audiences since the Michael Jordan era in 1998, with all five games averaging 20.6 million for ABC and ESPN. That was up 157% over last year.

Saturday’s NBA Finals Game 5 on ABC delivered an average audience of 24.5 million viewers and peaked with 33 million viewers watching the closing moments of the New York Knicks Championship victory, the teams first in 53 years. It was the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since 1998 as well.

Game 5 also generated the largest viewing audience of the day across all of television and in every key male and adult demo, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

The Game 4, which saw the Knicks make a record breaking comeback from a 29 point deficit, was up 123% from last year’s Game 4 with 20.9 million viewers and peaked with 23.2 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.

The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Freeride World Tour, HOVERAir, Manchester United, Pico, Rezzil, San Diego Wave FC, Specs, Inc, and Trigger XR.

Founded two years ago in June 2024 by Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Host Broadcast Services (HBS), the XRSA is designed to accelerate time-to-market and commercialization of XR sports services.

The new members are the fourth group of organizations to join the XRSA, bringing the total number of members up to 33.

"Two years in, XRSA has started to build genuine momentum across sports, media, and technology,” Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo, commented. “This fourth cohort reflects the breadth of what the alliance is becoming and continues to expand its capabilities across the immersive sports value chain. We are now several deployments in, proving our value as a structured testbed for real-world XR experimentation—with each new member strengthening what we can achieve together in accelerating the time-to-market and commercialization of XR sports experiences."

The new cohort of members spans rights owners, technology and hardware providers, and one of the world's leading sports and entertainment agencies—extending the alliance's reach across action sports rights, professional football, and aerial capture technology.

It includes ActionStreamer, a live-streaming software and wearable technology company, Antigravity, maker of A1, the world’s first 8K 360-degree drone for immersive capture; Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a global sports and entertainment agency; Freeride World Tour, the global series of competition for elite freeride skiers and snowboarders; HOVERAir, a technology and robotics company with a range of self-flying cameras; Pico, a VR technology company; Rezzil, a leading sports technology company focused on performance, insight, and engagement; San Diego Wave FC, a professional women’s soccer team, Specs, Inc. a technology company building the next generation of wearable computer; and Trigger XR, a sports and performance-focused agency. Manchester United, a UK Premier League football team, has also joined, as part of its partnership with Qualcomm.

"Bringing together organizations with expertise spanning capture technology, creative services, sports rights and fan engagement gives XRSA the range it needs to generate learnings that are genuinely transferable across the industry,” added Sylvain Lebreton, head of digital, HBS. “Meaningful experimentation requires diverse environments — different sports, different audiences, different production conditions. This cohort delivers exactly that breadth, and that is what will make our outputs valuable beyond any single deployment."

Google TV has announced new features that will make it easier for soccer fans to access games and information about the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Separately, Google TV is also making upgrades that will allow user to adjust the picture and sound settings on select TCL TV models using Gemini voice commands.

In terms of soccer, the improvements allow Google TV users to watch and track games from soccer’s biggest global tournament directly from the Sports topic page on Google TV. Viewers can now straight to the Sports topic page to find live games, upcoming schedules, and highlights from apps like Fox One, Tubi, and YouTube TV.

More specifically, the page offers viewers who want to watch a live match, check recent results, or see tomorrow's lineup, such content as:

• Live matches: Jump directly into currently airing matches.
• Upcoming matches Visit the “Upcoming Games” row to view match dates, kickoff times, and schedules.
• Match highlights: Watch highlights and game summaries on YouTube if you missed a live broadcast.
• Post game content : View expert commentary, team analysis, and post-match breakdowns.

Google TV has also rolled out features that will allow viewers to use voice commands to adjust picture and sound settings, troubleshoot audio or visual issues, and open settings menus on select Gemini-enabled TCL Google TVs.

The upgrade for owners of those TVs means that they will no longer have to dig through settings menus to optimize their viewing experience. Now they can just press and hold the microphone button on your remote (or say "Hey Google") to chat with Gemini and get the help you need.

Examples of the prompts that can be used include:

• Adjust audio & video settings: Change common settings like brightness, contrast, picture, volume, and sound modes³. For example, ask Gemini to “Set picture mode to Sport” or “Increase the bass.”
• Troubleshoot picture & sound issues: Describe what you're experiencing, and Gemini will adjust the settings to fix it. Try saying, “The screen is too dark” or “I can't hear the dialogue clearly.”
• Optimize settings for your content: Tune settings for what you're watching. You can say, “It’s movie night—help make this feel like a cinematic experience.”
• Find settings menus: Go directly to the menu you want without clicking through multiple screens. Just say, “Open display settings.”

The TCL system update that enables these functionalities will be rolling out over the next few weeks to the following TCL models within the U.S.: QM9K, X11L, QM8L, and RM9L. Users can check for available system updates on their TCL Google TV by navigating to Settings > System > About > System update.

Caretta Research has released its latest forecast predicting record revenues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A record $8.9 billion in total revenue is expected, said the company, representing a 54% increase over the 2022 tournament. Growth will predominantly be driven by the rise in commercial and matchday revenues, with sports rights also having an effect.

FIFA’s decision to increase the number of teams from 32 to 48 is seen as a key driver for growth, with the number of games rising from 64 in 2022 to 104 this year, providing further opportunities to sell content. Commercial revenue is expected to rise by nearly $300 million, as traditional advertising opportunities are augmented with the inclusion of cooling breaks and an expanded half-time Super Bowl-style show.

Revenue from sports rights sold to media organizations is predicted to grow by $1 billion, a 32% increase on 2022, although its overall share will be reduced, falling below to per cent for the first time since at least 1998, said Caretta. The higher number of matches to be broadcast has diluted the rights value per game, which has decreased by 19%.

Regional time differences present a “significant difficulty for international media,’ said the company. The total volume of broadcast deals has fallen to 443 from 495 in 2022, a decrease of 11%. This highlights FIFA’s shift towards fewer broadcast partnerships with substantially higher individual values. Secondary broadcasters and sub-licensers have stepped away from the market, due to the challenges presented by time zone differences.

A clear regional split has been defined, with the total number of broadcast deals across Latin American and the Caribbean increasing by 18% while in Asia, the number fell by 21%.

Commenting on the findings, Evangelos Vrysellas, research analyst at Caretta Research, said, “Even though FIFA is set for record-breaking total revenue in 2026, the international broadcast landscape is becoming increasingly difficult. Media rights now represent a smaller portion of the overall revenue pie, with the value of each individual match dropping by 19%. The combination of middle-of-the-night kick-offs for major global markets and rising production expenses has discouraged many potential bidders, leading to a 11% drop in the total number of broadcast deals”.

This article original appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

MELVILLE, N.Y.—Chyron has introduced PAINT 10.4, the latest version of its illustrated replay and sports analysis platform.

PAINT 10.4 helps broadcasters create richer analysis, move faster to air and extend PAINT more effectively into the wider broadcast ecosystem with its deeper data-driven storytelling, faster operator workflows and stronger connectivity across the production environment.

The latest release includes pro football data integration, providing operators with synchronized player metrics for telestration and replay workflows. PAINT 10.4 also improves player-focused storytelling with an AI-enhanced Player Cutout feature that makes it faster and easier to isolate and emphasize key players in video.

It makes isolating a player faster and easier while keeping the process familiar for existing operators. AI helps identify players even in crowded scenes, including moments where a player is partially obscured, giving productions a stronger starting point for player-focused storytelling.

The pro football data integration enables PAINT 10.4 to expand football analysis by syncing video and player metrics through timecode on saved clips. Operators can access player-specific data on a per-play basis, making it easier to build visual analysis around the action on screen.

An automatic game selection list surfaces games happening today and over the next five days, helping teams get into the workflow quickly. Operators can then use key metrics, such as separation, air yards, time to throw, yards after catch, yards after contact, rushing data and expected player metrics, to create more compelling on-air storytelling. Graphics can also be styled through the data integration with VaultSync, which automatically pulls team colors and logos from the cloud.

PAINT 10.4 adds runtime chromakey mode switching, allowing teams to change between automatic and manual chromakey modes during production without restarting the application. The release also brings Formation Tool coordinate output into a released workflow, helping productions connect PAINT tactical analysis with external systems, such as virtual set and augmented reality (VSAR), to support more integrated on-air presentation pipelines.

This gives broadcasters new ways to repurpose analysis data for more immersive and visually connected presentations. It also helps teams create a smoother handoff between analysis creation in PAINT and downstream graphics or AR execution. Together, these updates help teams build richer analysis while connecting PAINT more effectively to the wider broadcast ecosystem.

“PAINT 10.4 is about making data-driven storytelling faster and more practical for live production,” said Andreas Olsson, product manager of PAINT. “With integrated pro football data available within just a few clicks, broadcasters can quickly access the information they need and turn it into clear, compelling analysis on air.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

NEW YORK—Fubo and NBCUniversal have struck a distribution agreement, ending a longstanding carriage dispute dating back to last November.

“We’re thrilled to announce the return of NBCUniversal networks to Fubo, given their robust portfolio of top-tier sports, entertainment and news,” said Todd Mathers, executive vice president, content strategy and acquisition, Fubo. “Our agreement with NBCUniversal underscores Fubo’s promise to bring consumers more programming, value and choice through multiple packaging options.”

Starting June 10, Fubo’s virtual MVPD customers can stream NBCU’s Spanish-language networks, Telemundo and Universo, as well as its English-language networks, including the new NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), regional sports networks (RSNs) and new FAST channels to launch in the coming weeks.

Customers will be able to access NBCUniversal programming through multiple Fubo plan options, including:

• NBC, through Fubo’s base English-language TV plan and the Fubo Sports content service;
• Telemundo, through Fubo’s base English-language TV plan and Latino plan;
• Bravo, through Fubo’s base English-language TV plan;
• Universo through Fubo’s Latino Plan, Spanish-language Latino Plus add-on package and English-language Extra package;
• NBC Sports RSNs (Bay Area, Boston, California, Philadelphia), through Fubo’s base English-language TV plan; and
• NBCSN, through Fubo’s base English-language TV plan and the Fubo Sports content service.

WASHINGTON—National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt urged Congress to reform the Sports Broadcasting Act so that it “applies only to league-wide negotiations with media companies that will distribute games through broadcast television, not lock games behind streaming paywalls.”

The SBA, passed in 1961, gives the National Football League a limited antitrust exemption that allows it to negotiate TV rights deals with media companies on behalf of all of its teams.

In recent years, LeGeyt and others at a House subcommittee hearing argued, the NFL has pursued a policy of selling media rights to subscription streaming services that has enriched the league but harmed consumers.

“The Sports Broadcasting Act was built on a simple public-interest bargain,” he said in prepared testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust. “Professional sports leagues received a limited antitrust exemption so they could pool and sell broadcast rights, and fans received broad public access to their games … For decades, that bargain worked. Fans could watch most games on free, local broadcast television. Leagues benefited from the unmatched reach of broadcasting.

“Yet today, it is increasingly apparent that the public access goals of that bargain are no longer being met,” he added. “Games from the four major professional leagues are now spread across Amazon Prime [Video], Netflix, YouTube TV and Apple TV. Fans increasingly need multiple paid subscriptions to watch their favorite teams, and survey after survey shows fans are confused and frustrated. Some estimates suggest that accessing every NFL game over the course of a season would cost a consumer well over $1,000. That’s a long way from the broad, free access Congress intended when it created the SBA.”

To remedy this, LeGeyt said: “NAB is not asking to eliminate the Sports Broadcasting Act. But this Committee should reaffirm that the SBA applies only to league-wide negotiations with media companies that will distribute games through broadcast television, not lock games behind streaming paywalls.”

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez also expressed serious concern about the way the NFL has sold media rights and handled its distribution strategy.

“The economics of how fans actually watch have shifted in ways that deserve serious attention,” she said. “What used to arrive through an antenna, available to anyone regardless of income, has increasingly migrated behind a growing stack of subscriptions and league-specific apps. For a family trying to follow their team through a full season, the cost of piecing together access across multiple platforms adds up quickly.”

Gomez also noted that the FCC is currently probing the state of sports rights on broadcasting.

“The FCC has a legitimate interest in helping gather information on how the Sports Broadcasting Act is functioning in a changing media environment, and I support efforts to ensure fans can access the games they love without paying a fortune,” she said. “When sports programming migrates behind paywalls, fans lose access, local broadcasters lose the revenue that keeps their stations alive, and the local journalism those stations produce loses the funding on which they depend.”

But she added that “I also want to be candid about where the FCC's authority ends. The Commission can gather information, raise concerns, and call out fouls where it sees them, but any meaningful update to the Sports Broadcasting Act will ultimately require legislative action.”

Also testifying was Jim Hallers, founder and managing partner of Tailgators Pub & Grill and Citizens Grill, a chain of sports bars in Texas, who blasted the NFL’s 2022 decision to sell the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market game package to YouTube. He said the general shift of sports rights to streaming has imposed significant costs on restaurants and bars.

“Because we promise customers every NFL game, we now have to figure out how to deliver multiple simultaneous streams across dozens of televisions,” he said. “One commercial video switch with enough inputs and outputs can cost in excess of $15,000. A full upgrade including equipment, wiring and the labor will cost $30,000 to $40,000 per restaurant. And then there is the bandwidth problem. It is one thing to stream a game at home. It is another thing to stream ten noon games at once while also running point-of-sale systems, credit card processing, security cameras, online ordering, music, office systems and customer Wi-Fi. When a game freezes during a key play, the customer does not blame the provider. They blame the restaurant.”

“Beginning with the 2026 season, EverPass is the commercial provider for NFL Sunday Ticket,“ he said. “But EverPass does not replace the rest of the programming my customers expect. I still need DirecTV, cable or another provider for the in-market football game, and all the other channels and programming that make a sports bar work. So instead of simplifying the business, the transition is adding another layer of cost and complexity. I cannot simply replace 40 DirecTV boxes in one venue with 40 streaming devices. It does not work like this. The internet capacity, hardware, control systems and reliability are not there yet.”

WASHINGTON—In the runup to June 10 hearings to examine the antitrust exemptions currently enjoyed by the NFL and other major professional sports, the House Judiciary Committee has released an interim staff report titled “The Sports Broadcasting Act: A Special-Interest Antitrust Exemption Gone Awry” blasting the league’s current strategy for selling media rights.

The NFL has stretched an antitrust exemption created in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 beyond its original purpose to the detriment of U.S. consumers, the report argues, through a series of deals with streaming companies that have enriched the league and harmed TV viewers.

“The results shown in the data suggest that the NFL's current model of placing games behind a paywall, especially through its Sunday Ticket offering, is harming consumers by forcing them to pay for a large package of NFL games when many consumers only want to see their favorite team's games,” the committee found. “The existence of the data also suggests that the NFL has misstated the nature of its Sunday Ticket product.”

The report comes at a time when the NFL is under increasing political and regulatory pressure from legislators and regulators. President Donald Trump, members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, which has opened a probe into the current market for sports rights, have all complained that the shift of major sports rights from free broadcast to streaming platforms have made it increasingly costly and difficult for fans to follow their favorite teams.

In August 2025, the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust opened an investigation into the professional sports leagues’ broadcasting practices, which the SBA governs. The SBA provides the leagues with an antitrust exemption so they can negotiate rights deals on behalf of all their teams.

As part of this oversight, the Committee says it is examining whether anticompetitive broadcasting conduct by the NFL has harmed American football consumers and undermined the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws and the SBA.

The NFL counters that 100% of its “local market games” are available over the air for free and 87% of games have “primary distribution’ on broadcast television. In meetings with the FCC, league officials have argued the NFL offers “the most fan- and broadcaster-friendly [model] in the entire sports and entertainment industry.”

“The NFL’s claim of a fan-friendly distribution model defies the reality experienced by millions of NFL fans,” the committee found. “The NFL's own data show that the average NFL game reaches only 39% of U.S. households. In 2016, broadcasters aired 113 of the NFL’s 256 regular-season games in fewer than 20 percent of U.S. households. When the NFL claims that 87% of games receive “primary distribution” on broadcast television, it means only that a broadcast station carries those games somewhere in the country—not that most fans can watch them.”

Additionally, survey data obtained by the committee suggested the NFL's Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package is not as consumer-friendly as the league claims. The report argues that:

• Despite the NFL's claims, Sunday Ticket is not just a product for the avid fan of NFL football in general, but a product bought mainly by fans attempting to watch their favorite team who are stuck with no other option.
• According to data from former Sunday Ticket subscribers, when asked, “Why did you sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket?” over 70% of respondents answered that they subscribed to “watch my favorite team, which is out of market.“
• When asked why they canceled their Sunday Ticket subscription, 70% of respondents said the package is too expensive.

The Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will convene a hearing about the SBA on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 10 a.m.

Read the full report here.

Read the full appendix here.

NEW YORK—Nielsen has released a new study documenting the growing influence and size of the North American soccer fan base with data showing there are over 136 million soccer fans in North America, up 10.9% from 5 years ago, and that the U.S. now has the fourth largest soccer fanbase in the world with 62.5 million fans.

“The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition” report examines audience, engagement, content and format and utilised trended data to explore the current fan landscape in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Key findings include:

• Over the past 5 years soccer fandom in North America has experienced significant growth - with a 10.9% leap from May 2020 to May 2025, marked by surging viewership of TV broadcasts.
• The US has the fourth largest soccer fanbase in the world with 62.5 million fans
• 64% of fans expect their interest in soccer to keep climbing
• Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and the most popular sport in Mexico (63%) with the average Mexican fan following the sport for around 14 years. In the US and Canada, soccer faces more competition. It ranks 3rd (37%) in Canada and 4th (31%) in the USA, trailing to domestic sports like ice hockey, and American football.

• About a quarter of soccer fans in North America became a fan in the last 5 years, with the majority (68%) of fans claiming their interest has increased in the last 3 years as the build up to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ intensified.
• Soccer fans in the U.S. are younger (33) and more affluent than the US general population.
• 76% of U.S. soccer fans are Millennials or Gen Z
• Higher female engagement is a key differentiator in North America vs Europe (43% vs 36%)
• Across North America, soccer plays a significant / extremely significant role in the livelihood of individuals including personal enjoyment (29%), social connection and community (14%), family bonding and tradition (12%), and physical fitness and health benefits (11%).
• North America follows similar media engagement patterns to Europe, with 72% watching the game via TV or streaming platforms (47%) with social media (47%) being the next most popular.
• More Mexicans (51%) are likely to watch broadcasts of live matches - usually with family and friends (the ones that brought them into the sport) at home.
• Canadians lean into short-form content (33%), preferring to watch highlights and social media content.

The report also delved into the economic impact FIFA can create.

For example, the FIFA Club World Cup last summer (June 14 to July 13, 2025) in major U.S. cities was a huge commercial success with the economic outcome generating a Gross Output of $17.1 billion and contributing $9.6 billion to the Gross Domestic Product in the U.S. The research shows the event created 105,000 Full-Time Equivalent jobs and generated $5.8 billion in Labor Income. The event is projected to generate $1.9 billion in direct and indirect taxes for the government.

More information on “The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition” can be found at Nielsen.com.

NEW YORK—While U.S. interest in soccer continues to grow and viewing of the FIFA World Cup 2026 is projected to rise, new survey data across seven major markets shows the nation still lags the Europe and Asia-Pacific regions in men’s World Cup viewing, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Only 13% of U.S. online adults surveyed said they “typically” watch World Cup matches, compared to nearly half of U.K. respondents and 28–43% of respondents in other surveyed markets.

Demographic patterns reveal a male-heavy audience, with splits approaching 70% men and 30% women in the U.S. and China and 57%-43% in India.

Cross-sport engagement is extensive. U.S. World Cup fans heavily favor football (78%) and basketball (70%), while cricket dominates India (89%), baseball peaks in South Korea (64%) and European markets show the strongest overlap with tennis viewership.

Younger cohorts show a more balanced gender mix, but the gap widens substantially among older viewers

FIFA+ will launch exclusively on DAZN, bringing the FAST channel to hundreds of millions of soccer fans, soccer’s global governing body and the streaming service said.

FIFA+ on DAZN will feature some 8,500 live matches per year from around 100 FIFA member associations, alongside original programming and archive content.

“The integration of FIFA+ into DAZN represents a key milestone in our ambition to make football truly global and accessible,” Mattias Grafström, FIFA secretary general, said. “Following the successful collaboration at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, we are now taking the next steps in building the Global Home of Football, bringing together competitions, content and storytelling on a single platform while creating new opportunities for our FIFA Member Associations to grow their audiences worldwide.”

The move creates a single global destination for thousands of FIFA-related live events, archival content and original programming. This new service brings FIFA’s extensive portfolio of global soccer content together with DAZN’s portfolio of soccer rights from the top leagues and competitions around the world.

In addition to around 8,500 live events in selected territories annually, the offering includes content from FIFA member associations, extensive data and select archive content from past FIFA tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with fans able to watch full match replays, highlights, goals, collections, plus curated content that uses unseen angles and historic footage.

In addition, the 2026 offering includes the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco, the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in certain territories.

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters has released a new 30-second TV spot in its effort to enlist the public in urging lawmakers to keep sports programming on local broadcast stations.

“More and more, the games fans love are getting locked behind paywalls,“ the spot says. “Another app. Another fee. Another way fans get left behind.”

Sports belong where everyone can access them—on broadcast TV, it says. The spot asks the public to text “Sports” to 39179. Doing so, takes people to a letter to lawmakers that says in part:

“Live sports should remain a shared experience that everyone can access, no matter where we live or what we can afford. That’s why I’m asking you to help keep live spots on broadcast TV.”

NAB’s “Keep the Game On” campaign emphasizes the role of local broadcasters in delivering major sporting events.

The spot is available in English and Spanish.

NAB’s Keep the Game On campaign is available online.

Lenovo has detailed how its deployment of a near-real-time AI-powered infrastructure platform for this year’s FIFA World Cup will enable ultralow-latency IPTV, better operational control and new fan experiences for billions of viewers.

As FIFA’s official technology partner, Lenovo has deployed servers and other solutions at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas to support the most expansive broadcast operation in FIFA World Cup history.

More than 17,000 Lenovo and Motorola devices and 200-plus engineers deployed across venues and Team Base Camp training sites will help ensure professional execution, Lenovo said.

The deployment is part of Lenovo’s larger push to expand its sports technology investments. In March, it launched a dedicated sports vertical designed to support organizations operating live, global and mission-critical environments. By integrating AI infrastructure, edge computing, devices, and services into a unified model, Lenovo said it aims to help sports organizations shift from fragmented systems to real-time, end-to-end operational control.

For this year’s World Cup, Lenovo’s technology solutions have reduced latency within IPTV infrastructure, with IPTV delays now under five seconds, enabling near-real-time access to live match action and more synchronized viewing experiences, the company said.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 servers and technology will also help manage massive volumes of live video data coming in from stadiums across North America and power FIFA’s IPTV live feed by ingesting, processing, and distributing all match content in close to real-time via ten channels to over 1,000 screens throughout FIFA venues.

Beyond broadcast, Lenovo’s technology will be deployed at FIFA’s Technology Command Center in Miami and the Tournament Operation Center for the duration of the World Cup. This hub, where all the technology powering the games is monitored and managed in near-real-time by experienced engineers and FIFA management, serves as the central “mission control” for the tournament.

With the help of Lenovo’s enterprise solutions, FIFA’s Technology Command Center and Tournament Operation Center will ensure organizers can quickly observe and address operational issues across a tournament footprint of 16 venues across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Lenovo’s AI infrastructure is redefining the FIFA World Cup experience, delivering near real-time highlights, multi-angle views and insights at unprecedented global scale,” said Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, president of infrastructure solutions at Lenovo. “Together with FIFA, we are running AI under the world’s most demanding conditions—solving latency concerns and bringing billions of fans closer to the action than ever before, setting a new standard for live sports.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will also showcase Lenovo’s real-world AI advances in sports production, the company said. Lenovo products will manage complex on-premise edge computing, the company said, significantly reducing latency in cases where cloud-only solutions failed to meet broadcast requirements.

More specifically, during the World Cup, technologies powered by Lenovo ThinkSystem servers, engineered for high-density, mission-critical environments requiring massive throughput, and near real-time operational performance will support:

• Near real-time monitoring of stadium and tournament wide tech systems
• Live broadcast, streaming, and IPTV delivery
• Rapid incident detection and issue resolution to minimize disruption and downtime
• Enhancing the fan experience with real-time insight and transparency

Lenovo said it is also enabling a more immersive and understandable viewing experience through AI-driven innovations.

AI-enabled 3D player avatars will provide clearer, real-time visualization of complex decisions such as offside calls, Lenovo said. Built using advanced GenAI and real-world player data, these avatars are designed to help fans better understand the game as it happens. These avatars will also be an additional value input to support FIFA match officials in their offside decision-making during matches, Lenovo said.  

To improve the in-venue experience across three countries, Lenovo said it will deploy solutions designed to enhance safety, efficiency,and engagement, including: AI-driven navigation systems to reduce congestion and improve movement across venues; AI-driven stabilized “Referee Views” to give a first-person perspective with up to 50% less motion distortion; and immersive digital and holographic experiences to create new ways for fans to engage with the game.

In addition, Lenovo will deploy the FIFA AI Pro platform, a next-generation AI-powered knowledge assistant giving tactical insights to coaches, players and analysts. Built using Lenovo’s AI Factory, the platform will be provided to all 48 competing teams.

NEW YORK—They may have fallen short in the Western Conference finals, but the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the list of most-watched NBA teams in 2025-26, drawing 1.8 million viewers per game in the regular season, according to Nielsen viewing data.

The No. 2 team was the Los Angeles Lakers—the team that boasted the most-watched player, per Nielsen, in LeBron James—followed by the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks.

Another participant in this week’s NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, trailed James as the league’s second-most-watched player.

Nielsen’s Spring 2026 “Tops of Sports’ report also noted double-digit growth in viewership across pro basketball (up 27%), NHL hockey (25%), auto racing (44%) and golf (12%*), fueled by new streaming and broadcast options, the massive popularity of global stars and changing ways that fans follow their favorite teams.

More specifically, the NBA’s average audience for regular-season games was up 27%, with the early rounds of the playoffs seeing a 10% bump. The league benefited from new media-rights deals that helped it reach younger viewers on streamers Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN Unlimited while still drawing larger audiences on broadcasters ABC and NBC and cable network ESPN.

The NHL is also experiencing a major boost, with average regular-season viewership up 25% to 540,000 viewers per game, and the first round of the playoffs up 77%, to 1.2 million viewers. The growth was bolstered by significant cultural moments involving hockey, such as the gold medal wins by the U.S. men’s and women’s ice hockey teams at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Prime Video’s hit series “Off-Campus” and drama series “Heated Rivalry” on HBO Max, which notched nearly 2 billion streaming minutes in the first quarter, Nielsen said.

Followers of the NHL’s official TikTok account were up 83% this season, Nielsen reported. Further demonstrating America’s growing interest, the national TV debut of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) drew about 133,000 viewers to Ion, with 45% of the audience women 18-plus. In addition, demonstrating the buying power of hockey fans, NHL viewers rank No. 3 in median income among all sports watchers.

Last year’s Indianapolis 500 averaged more than 7 million viewers, the most in 17 years. The 2026 IndyCar season is already off to a strong start, with the first five races averaging 1.2 million viewers, 44% higher than the same period in 2025. Viewer interest is also rising, with 19% of respondents reporting being somewhat or very interested in IndyCar this March, up from 15% in March of 2023.

So far this year, the PGA Tour is averaging 1.5 million viewers. Efforts to evolve the franchise’s social media presence may be paying off, as Nielsen Scarborough data shows a steady increase in interest since 2023. *An influx of young Asian talent like Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia, and Si Woo Kim looks to be helping to expand the tour’s audience, with Asian viewership to PGA Tour events up 12% so far this year.

PHILADELPHIA—Comcast’s Xfinity has announced expansive plans for its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage that will provide Xfinity X1 TV subscribers with access to RealTime 4K feeds of all 104 games with Dolby Vision and Atmos, along with a host of features like Multiview, Fan View, AI-powered highlights that will make it easier to find, access, interact and watch the games.

In parallel, Xfinity also announced that it is launching Fox One on Xfinity Xumo Stream Box, giving Xfinity Internet customers access to every match in English alongside Peacock’s Spanish-language coverage.

“We’ve been on a deliberate journey to reimagine how fans experience sports in the home, rolling out new capabilities that make watching more immersive, intuitive and aligned with how fans engage today,” Comcast Vice President, Sports and Entertainment Vito Forlenza said. “The World Cup is the latest example of how Xfinity combines premium picture quality, low-latency streaming and interactive features to create a truly standout sports viewing experience, powered by our most intelligent and reliable Wi-Fi.”

The launch builds on efforts by Comcast to improve the live viewing experience for recent high profile events like the Olympics, NFL, the Super Bowl and NBC’s NBA coverage where the operator rolled out higher resolution video formats and features like Multiview, Fan View and AI-powered highlights.

It also comes at a time when consumers are increasingly frustrated by the difficulty of finding content, particularly sporting events, that are airing on a variety of different streaming platforms and Comcast is facing growing competition from mobile providers for broadband subs and pay TV subs.

That makes the new features an important test case in the operator’s efforts to convince consumers that its high-capacity networks can offer a host of features—such as low-latency 4K video and seamless access to both streaming and pay TV content without switching apps—that can’t be matched by competitors.

“The coverage shows we have the technical capabilities, we have the devices, we have the network, we have the wherewithal to provide the best sports experience in the market,” Forlenza said in an interview. “Our FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage is really the visual articulation of the value that we're bringing to our customers.”

As part of the coverage, the operator has created World Soccer Hub. Xfinity TV customers can simply say “World Cup” or “Copa Mundial” into the Xfinity Voice Remote to launch the hub, an aggregated, bicultural tournament destination that brings all live and on demand coverage from across networks and streaming services into one simple, seamless experience. The destination also provides quick access to Xfinity’s most advanced sports viewing features.

Comcast described the other notable features available for its World Cup coverage as follows:

• The fastest stream, sharpest picture and best audio with RealTime4K: All 104 matches from Fox and FS1, plus a match of the day from Telemundo will be available in Xfinity’s new RealTime4K technology. Delivered to the home over Xfinity’s superior network just seconds behind the action on the pitch, RealTime4K offers stunning contrasts, brilliant colors and lifelike detail with Dolby Vision and an immersive audio experience with Dolby Atmos.
• Never miss a moment with Create Your Own Multiview: Fans can watch up to four live events at once, selecting from World Cup matches and other simultaneously airing events to build a customized Multiview experience.
• Discover while watching with Fan View: A personalized, interactive companion experience, Fan View gives viewers an easy way to discover and immerse themselves in all the tournament action, without taking their eyes off the big screen. Customers can select their favorite countries to create a tailored viewing experience centered around the action that matters most to them, or browse the latest scores, stats, standings, and odds from across the tournament. Fan View also serves as the launchpad for Xfinity Clips, a new short-form video experience that makes it easy to watch highlights, features and key moments in a format inspired by the simplicity of leading social media platforms.
• Record and catch up quickly with AI Highlights: Available on DVR recordings of Fox’s and Telemundo’s game coverage, AI highlights automatically tag key moments like goals, penalty kicks, and amazing saves so fans can quickly catch up on the biggest action of the day.
• Take the tournament to go with Xfinity Stream and Xfinity Mobile: With the Xfinity Stream app, customers can watch live World Cup matches and coverage wherever they are. And with Xfinity Mobile, they can tap into Xfinity WiFi’s more than 23 million hotspots to get speeds up to 1 Gbps and stay connected to every moment on the go.

The FIFA World Cup also marks the launch of Fox One, the official English-language streaming platform of FIFA World Cup 2026, on Xfinity Xumo Stream Box, expanding how Xfinity Internet customers can watch the tournament.

With Fox One now available, streamers can watch every World Cup match in English alongside Spanish-language coverage via Peacock, bringing the entire tournament together in one streamlined, voice enabled experience.

The company also stressed that this coverage is part of its ongoing push to improve the viewing experience for sports fans that will impact its future coverage of the NFL, NBA and other sports.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 also builds on Xfinity’s broader commitment to the global game. Beyond the tournament, Xfinity serves as a year-round destination for soccer, aggregating top European leagues, Latin American competitions, international tournaments, and domestic club matches into a single viewing experience.

It also offers World Soccer Ticket, a video package custom-built for soccer fans that includes nearly 60 channels and Peacock Premium, customers can enjoy more than 1,500 matches from the world’s top leagues, including Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Major League Soccer, LALIGA, Liga MX, the FIFA World Cup, and more, all in one place.

NEW YORK—A new study from S&P Global Market Intelligence is predicting that FIFA World Cup 2026, the first three-nation-hosted and expanded-format tournament, is projected to generate $9 billion in revenue, including $3.9 billion in media rights.

The record levels of revenue are being driven by an enlarged 48-team, 104-match schedule, premium US-hosted ticketing, and strengthened global media partnerships across major markets according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The researchers noted that FIFA World Cup 2026 introduces the first format expansion in 28 years, increasing participation from 32 to 48 nations and total matches from 64 to 104, while being hosted across 16 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico.

That will drive projected revenue of approximately $9 billion for FIFA in the 2026 World Cup year, anchored by about $3.9 billion in broadcasting rights and complemented by strong growth in marketing rights and a substantial uplift in hospitality and ticketing.

For the four year cycle between 2023 and 2026, total revenue will hit $13 billion, up from $6.5 billion between 2019 and 2022.

The report also predicts global viewership and engagement are expected to reach unprecedented levels, with FIFA forecasting 6 billion engagements across TV, streaming and digital platforms, building on the 1.5 billion viewers for the Argentina–France 2022 final and surging digital consumption. In addition, more than five million in-stadium attendees are anticipated.

Other key highlights include:

• Non-men’s World Cup properties significantly bolster FIFA’s commercial cycle, with the Women’s World Cup, youth tournaments and the FIFA World Club Cup elevated through deals such as a $1 billion rights contract with DAZN in 2025 and a new USA–Canada streaming agreement with Netflix from 2027
• Strategic four-year planning and tier 1 marketing rights allocation across cycles enable FIFA to lock in long-term commercial partners, while confidence in US, Canada and Mexico as hosts supports forecasts that ticketing and hospitality for 2026 will outperform Qatar 2022 and exceed World Cup 2030 ticketing by $950 million.

DALLAS—FIFA has opened the International Broadcast Center (IBC) for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino hailing the facility as "the most technologically advanced and top of the art international broadcast center that the world has ever seen."

The facility will serve as the global broadcast operations center for 180 broadcasters covering the tournament set to take place across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the USA from June 11 to July 19 2026.

It is the second time that Dallas has been designated this prestigious function, having also hosted the IBC during the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA.

"It's absolutely incredible to be here in Dallas at this fantastic International Broadcast Centre – it's getting better and better," said Infantino. "There's more and more technology, AI power, people, experts. It's incredible to see how much work, how much passion, how much expertise, how much high-level technological input there is to bring the FIFA World Cup to billions of fans all over the world.

Addressing some of the 2,000 broadcast media representatives who will be based at the facility, he also said stressed that "not everyone can travel to the United States or in the past to other countries to witness the FIFA World Cup, but everyone can see it back from home thanks to the IBC and thanks to the broadcasters," he said.

At the opening, Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson said that the city, which will host nine FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, had made targeted investments to support the operation and the thousands of international visitors.

"Having toured the operations here myself a few days ago, I can attest to the cutting-edge technology, including AI and innovation, that will be transforming this facility into a world-class media hub," Johnson said, according to a blog post posted by FIFA describing the opening.

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was selected as the IBC for FIFA World Cup 2026 in part because of its central location across the three-nation tournament footprint, making Dallas the ideal hub for a broadcast operation spanning Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The facility spans 45,000 square meters (485,000 square feet) and will serve as headquarters for FIFA's host broadcaster and Host Broadcast Services (HBS), all FIFA Media Partners, FIFA's Video Content Production Department, FIFA's Football Technology and Innovation Department as well as housing the video assistant referee (VAR) room, the post noted.

"Four years ago, when we opened up the IBC in Qatar, our President was challenging us….and saying: 'We need to continue to push the bar as high as we can in order to remain a reference for everybody in the world in how we can deliver high-quality, our competences to all our broadcasters, to our partners,’” said Romy Gai, FIFA's chief business officer. “And I am happy to say today that what you can see all around us is the result of capitalizing on all our experience from the past, trying to improve and to do more in order to better serve our 180 broadcasters from all around the world."

HBS has delivered broadcast services for the six most recent editions of the FIFA World Cup, and broadcaster infrastructure is fully integrated into FIFA's stadium projects, covering camera positions, interview positions, the mixed zone, studios, media tribune, broadcast compound and press conference rooms.

In a blog post, FIFA said that a key pillar of the IBC's operation is the partnership between FIFA and Lenovo, FIFA's Official Technology Partner, which is providing complete IT solutions across the FIFA World Cup 2026 ecosystem.

Lenovo is deploying servers at the IBC in Dallas to deliver the computing power, devices and AI-driven solutions needed to bring every moment of every match to global audiences. More than 17,000 Lenovo and Motorola devices are deployed across venues and Team Base Camp training sites, supported by over 200 Lenovo engineers across all venues.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 servers manage massive volumes of live video data from stadiums across North America, powering FIFA's IPTV live feed via ten channels to over 1,000 screens at all FIFA venues. Lenovo's technology has also reduced latency within FIFA's IPTV infrastructure to under five seconds, enabling near real-time access to live match action.

As FIFA’s official technology partner, Lenovo has deployed servers and other solutions at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas to support the most expansive broadcast operation in FIFA World Cup history.

The deployment is part of Lenovo’s larger push to expand its sports technology investments. In March, it launched a dedicated sports vertical designed to support organizations operating live, global and mission-critical environments. By integrating AI infrastructure, edge computing, devices, and services into a unified model, Lenovo said it aims to help sports organizations shift from fragmented systems to real-time, end-to-end operational control.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will also showcase Lenovo’s real-world AI advances in sports production, the company said. Lenovo products will manage complex on-premise edge computing, the company said, significantly reducing latency in cases where cloud-only solutions failed to meet broadcast requirements.

FIFA's Gai also highlighted two specific AI-powered innovations that will enhance the broadcast experience at FIFA World Cup 2026.

The first is AI-enabled 3D player avatars, which represent a major development in semi-automated offside technology. Players will be digitally scanned on arrival – a process that takes approximately one second per player – to create precise 3D models that capture highly accurate body-part dimensions. These models will be incorporated into the host broadcast, enabling offside decisions determined by the VAR system to be displayed more realistically and in a more engaging way for fans both in stadiums and watching at home around the world, the blog post explained.

The second innovation is a stabilized referee view. Building on a successful trial at the FIFA Club World Cup™ in 2025, AI-powered stabilization software will smooth footage captured from the referee's camera in real time, reducing motion blur caused by rapid movement. The footage will deliver a higher-quality, first-person perspective for audiences, enhancing transparency, understanding and engagement throughout matches, he reported.

"Thanks to AI, we've introduced some innovations that will be highlighted through the broadcaster for the fans," Gai said. "These are just a couple of examples. We will have more to say, more to tell."

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Roku and the National Hockey League have announced a new deal to create and launch the NHL Zone, a new destination within the Roku Sports experience for hockey fans.

Launching ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final (with Game 1 set for June 2 at 8 p.m. on ABC), NHL Zone will serve as a centralized hub on Roku for NHL national and regional games available in the user’s area, plus highlights and more.

“With NHL Zone, we’re making it easier than ever for hockey fans to get straight to what matters most, plus so much more, all in one place,” Roku Media Head of Sports Joe Franzetta said. “At Roku, we always put viewers first, giving them a clear, simple destination for all their favorite channels and platforms, game highlights and recaps, and all the other great programming offered by Roku.”

The agreement builds on an existing alliance between the league and the streaming platform, which has already led to the launch of the NHL FAST Channel on Roku.

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Roku, first with the NHL FAST channel and now NHL Zone, as we continue to create new and innovative ways to serve our passionate fans,” NHL Chief Media Officer David Proper said. “NHL Zone provides NHL fans with a go-to destination for Roku users to discover all the exciting NHL action offered on Roku and from our rightsholders.”

Presented by Geico, NHL Zone offers quick access to:

• National and regional NHL games available in the user’s area, which can be watched if the users has a subscription to the networks, pay TV platform or streaming services that have rights to the games.
• NHL FAST Channel.
• Scores, highlights recaps, and must-see moments
• Additional long-form hockey programming.

NEW YORK—CBS Sports has announced that Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women’s Super League matches through the 2029-2030 season.

Beginning with coverage in September 2026, Paramount+ will live stream 183 matches each season, the most matches in the newly expanded competition’s history. CBS Sports Network will air one match per week with select matches also airing on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

In addition to CBS Sports’ coverage of live matches, CBS Sports Golazo Network will provide Barclays Women’s Super League coverage on its dedicated women’s soccer show “Attacking Third”, alongside its other studio programming “Morning Footy”, “Golazo Matchday” and “Scoreline”.

With the addition of England’s top women’s league, CBS Sports bolsters its women’s soccer rights across CBS, Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Those rights now include the NWSL, UEFA Women’s Champions League, Concacaf W Champions Cup, Concacaf W Gold Cup, Concacaf W Championship, Concacaf W Nations League, Serie A Femminile and select UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

The deal was negotiated by WSL Football’s international media rights representative, IMG.

HUNT VALLEY, Md.—In another example of how broadcasters are embracing video podcasting, Sinclair’s AMP Sports will launch"Style of Play", a new weekly women’s soccer podcast hosted by Julie Ertz and Kealia Watt. The series will kick off on June 2, across all major podcast platforms, with full video episodes available on YouTube.

[Editor’s note: Learn more about podcasting and why many media outlets are embracing the trend towards video podcasting in our new ebook, ‘Eye-Catching Audio'.]

Ertz, a two-time Women’s World Cup champion and one of the most decorated players in U.S. soccer history, and Watt, a NCAA Division I national champion, will bring expert analysis, personal storytelling, and behind-the-scenes insight, Sinclair said. Each episode will explore the latest women’s soccer headlines, key moments shaping the sport and feature conversations with athletes, coaches and influential voices from across the global soccer landscape.

“The growth of women’s soccer is undeniable, and ‘Style of Play’ gives us an opportunity to connect fans with the voices and perspectives of athletes who have competed at the very highest level,” Rob Weisbord, Sinclair chief operating officer and president of local media, said. “We’re especially pleased to launch the show during the World Cup, at a time when global interest in the sport is growing. Fans will have the opportunity to hear unique insights and commentary from two of the top former U.S. Women’s National Team players, Julie and Kealia, whose credibility, authenticity and deep understanding of the game make this podcast a natural extension of how we’re continuing to expand our sports content and engage audiences across platforms.”

Sponsors for “Style of Play” include Coors Light, Airbnb and ZipRecruiter.

Style of Play expands AMP Sports’ growing portfolio of original programming, including “The Triple Option,” “Unfiltered Soccer,” “Post Moves,” “Throwbacks” and “Cousins.”

LOS ANGELES—Fox Sports, America's English-language home for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and Fox Corporation have announced community impact initiatives leading up to the tournament that include a $500,000 commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).

The investment expands Fox Sports' dedication to growing access to soccer for youth and is part of a broader, multi-year community impact platform collaboration with BGCA and nonprofit organization, Common Goal, designed to create lasting opportunities for young people through soccer across the United States, the company reported.

"As Fox Sports prepares to present the largest FIFA World Cup in history, we have a unique opportunity to ensure the tournament's legacy is measured not only by unforgettable moments on the pitch, but by the lasting impact it creates in communities nationwide," said Eric Shanks, CEO and executive producer, Fox Sports. "We are honored to support the efforts of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Common Goal, U.S. Soccer Foundation and others to expand access to soccer and create opportunities for the next generation both on and off the field."

The $500,000 investment will support youth soccer programming offered by BGCA, expanding access to the sport and creating new opportunities for young athletes nationwide. The legacy commitment is expected to engage more than 26,000 new youth across the country, while helping to train coaches and create job opportunities for Club teens as referees. The donation also enables local clubs nationwide to host Soccer Forward Fests, community-based events designed by U.S. Soccer to celebrate and deepen engagement in the sport.

"Soccer can open up new opportunities for youth and this collaboration with Fox Sports will allow us to support young athletes across the country," said Jim Clark, President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "This monumental donation will allow us to uplevel our support for players, coaches, referees and more, contributing to their success on and off the soccer field."

Building on its efforts from FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, Fox Sports is expanding its community initiatives ahead of the 2026 tournament through such organizations as Common Goal, U.S. Soccer Foundation, and its own long running Fox Sports University program.

The company said that these combined efforts will increase access to the game, support mental health and create pathways for the next generation of players and professionals.

Fox Sports also noted that it is the only national broadcaster to take Common Goal's 1% pledge, committing one percent of its tournament coverage since 2022 to tell the story of soccer for social good across its platforms.

Together with Common Goal, Fox Sports will continue using the power of soccer to drive positive social impact through initiatives focused on inclusion, well-being and access to the game. This includes the company's commitment to the next chapter of "Create the Space," the mental health initiative led by Common Goal and launched in 2023 together with U.S. Women's National Team defender Naomi Girma and Fox Sports and Fox Corporation during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The initiative delivers youth-focused mental wellness training programs to soccer-based youth organizations across North America and the Caribbean, equipping the next generation with the tools to thrive both on and off the field.

"I'm proud of the work we've been able to accomplish at Common Goal to bring more awareness around how mental health impacts athletes. This support from Fox Sports and Fox Corporation allows us to make even stronger and more meaningful impact and change for good," said Girma.

DENVER—Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A. (Torneos) has significantly upgraded its playout operations, implementing a fully redundant, multichannel environment centered on Imagine Communications’ Versio integrated playout platform and ADC automation.

The modernized infrastructure provides a flexible foundation that enables Torneos to preserve trusted, existing workflows and at the same time opens up a clear path for future improvements, the two companies reported.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Torneos has more than 40 years of experience producing sports content across Latin America, delivering more than 19,000 hours of programming annually for major networks. The company also operates the DSports network, which will provide live match coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with pre- and post-match programming, highlights, and match replays across its linear channels and the DGO streaming platform.

With 10 live on-air channels to manage, Torneos was looking to upgrade its core playout systems with resilient solutions that would allow them to maintain their familiar automation workflow and evolve toward IP-based production and UHD content delivery when the time was right — without requiring a costly, wholesale replacement of their existing SDI infrastructure.

After careful market evaluation and extensive testing, Torneos selected Imagine’s fully software-based Versio integrated playout platform as the new foundation of its broadcast operation.

“Our goal was to modernize our playout operations without disrupting the workflows our teams rely on, so we needed a partner we could trust and a solution that our teams could operate without missing a beat,” said Pablo Mascitelli, CTO of Torneos. “We’ve worked with Imagine for many years, and that relationship mattered as much as the technology. They understood our environment, preserved the workflows we rely on, and gave us a path forward that makes sense for our business."

At Torneos, dual-channel Versio systems support 12 main and 12 fully redundant backup channels, each integrating playout, branding, master control switching, loudness control, SCTE insertion, and audio processing with SDI I/O. An upgrade of the organization’s existing ADC automation layer introduced playlist redundancy, enabling operators to control live switching, file-based playout, and branding from a single unified interface — with graphics preview and rapid source switching across all 12 on-air control positions. This integrated approach gives operators a consistent user experience and streamlined workflow from creation to air.

To ensure continuous on-air delivery, three Selenio Network Processor (SNP) devices with automatic changeover (ACO) provide seamless failover using content-aware metrics. All servers connect to Imagine's IOX Express high-availability shared storage, allowing capacity and bandwidth scaling without taking the system off-air.

"Modernizing broadcast infrastructure doesn't have to mean starting from scratch,” said Sergio Yanez, LATAM sales director at Imagine Communications. “By building on what Torneos already had and knew, we were able to deliver a dramatically more capable environment — and a clear runway to UHD and ST 2110 — without the disruption that often comes with a platform change."

The Imagine playout solution at Torneos was implemented in association with local Imagine Communications partner and systems integrator Viditec.

Visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information.

NEW YORK—As the political debate over the amount of major sports on streaming platforms continues to heat up, a new analysis by Gracenote shows that sports has quickly become a foundational part of the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) content mix and now makes up 5% of overall programming on leading services.

That is a major change from just 18 months ago. In November 2024, sports made up just 1.4% of the Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+ catalogs, according to the inaugural Gracenote Data Hub analysis. In the past 18 months, these five providers have more than doubled that distribution to 3.3%. With HBO Max now included in Gracenote’s analysis, sports rises to 5% of all content. There are now nearly 38,500 sports shows, episodes, sports games and events on the leading global SVOD services.

HBO Max currently offers the most sports content among major global streamers tracked by the Gracenote Data Hub, accounting for 35% of available sports. At the individual game and event level, HBO Max offers 42% of sports content.

After HBO Max, the next most sports-heavy destinations are Amazon Prime Video (25%), Netflix (16%) and Disney+ (14%). Focusing on the individual game and event level, Paramount+ emerged as the leader in sports programming in the Q1 2026 Data Hub, released in February. Now, Paramount+ is home to 30% of games, events and sports show episodes.

Newly added HBO Max jumps ahead of Paramount+ by offering 42% of this sports content. Paramount Skydance’s impending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery should make the new combined company a key player for streaming sports content globally.

Another key finding from the Q2 update is the number of FAST channels has increased by 19% year-over-year. Entertainment, sports, news and reality are the most predominant channel genres, with news channels exhibiting the most annual growth (57%) year-over-year. At the same time, FAST serves as a significant distribution channel for live sports from all over the world. More than one-third of content on sports channels on FAST (37%) is live sports events.

The Gracenote Data Hub analysis was expanded to include HBO Max as of the just released Q2 2026 update. Going forward, the service’s programming will be tracked quarterly alongside that of Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+.

Launched in November 2024, the Gracenote Data Hub provides insight into the content available on the now six leading global SVOD services and 2,120 FAST channels. The resource taps Gracenote Global Video Data, the industry’s most comprehensive trove of content intelligence powering advanced content search, discovery and recommendations capabilities. Updated quarterly, the resource tracks how leading SVOD catalogs and FAST channels are evolving over time and what these shifts signal.

For more information, visit Gracenote.com.

Apple TV will be breaking new ground this Saturday, May 23, by streaming a special live Major League Soccer match captured exclusively on iPhone 17 Pro.

The streamer is billing the production as "the first time that iPhones will be used to capture the entirety of a major professional live sporting event broadcast."

The milestone broadcast will feature the LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo FC streaming live on Apple TV from Dignity Health Sports Park during the final weekend of MLS play before the regular season pauses for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

iPhone 17 Pro will capture live footage throughout the match, including team warmups on the pitch, player introductions, in-net goal angles, and the atmosphere inside the stadium. A total of 15 iPhones will be used in the production.

With iPhone cameras positioned throughout the venue, Apple reported that the broadcast will deliver the pristine video quality fans expect, alongside dynamic new perspectives that bring viewers closer to the action, made possible by the small form factor of iPhone.

The move to capture an match entirely on iPhones builds on extensive work by Apple TV in using the smartphones for production.

Apple TV first incorporated iPhone into a live sports broadcast workflow during a September 2025 “Friday Night Baseball” matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

During that game it used iPhone 17 Pro to capture select moments from the game and cinematic in-stadium footage. The milestone production earned recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which added an iPhone used in the broadcast to its permanent collection.

iPhone 17 Pro features three 48MP Fusion cameras, offering the equivalent of eight lenses in a compact form factor and pro-level video features like Apple Log 2 used for this weekend’s broadcast.

Following strong fan response to the “Friday Night Baseball” production, Apple expanded the use of iPhone across additional sports broadcasts, including the MLS Cup in 2025. It then further integrated the technology into the regular production rotation for “Friday Night Baseball” and MLS broadcasts throughout the 2026 season.

This Saturday’s LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo FC match marks the next leap forward: the first live professional sporting event captured entirely on iPhone. Fans can see the results by tune in to Apple TV at 7:30 p.m. PT to see iPhone 17 Pro in action.

(Editor's note: Michael Davies will be the featured speaker during tomorrow's TVTech Talk webinar on sports production. He will discuss Fox Sports' preparations for Indy 500 and 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage. Register here to attend.)

SPEEDWAY, Ind.—The crash involving drivers Alexander Rossi, Pat O’Ward and Romain Grosjean during Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Monday once again demonstrated to race fans what in-car cameras bring to coverage as driver view shots from inside O’Ward and Rossi’s cars gave viewers the closest experience they’ll ever have to a smashup at more than 200 mph.

Those shots, however, are only one of multiple different in-car angles viewers can expect May 24 during Fox Sports’ coverage of the 110^th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

New for this year’s race coverage from the cars are what the broadcaster has dubbed “Top Gun” cameras, miniature RF cameras pointed at drivers in the cockpit, and what it is calling a Buckeye Camera mounted on the rear quarter panel of Indy cars.

“Inspiration for our ‘Top Gun’ camera comes from some of the films about racing,” said Michael Davies, Fox Sports executive vice president of technical and field operations. “F1: The Movie was a fantastic inspiration to see what we could do, and our director [Mitch Riggin] thought of how to get this amazing shot of the driver’s head looking straight on.”

The addition of the rear quarter panel camera brings another angle to engage the audience with new views of racing and pit action, he added.

“There’s just a lot of inspiration that goes into figuring out how to not only get the cameras that show you the X’s and O’s and the strategy, but also the emotion of it—the kind of thing you might see in a cinematic production,” said Davies.

These two new camera angles join the Racing Force micro-cameras embedded in drivers’ helmets at eyeline for Driver’s Eye shots, which Fox Sports used during its inaugural Indy 500 coverage last year and which captured yesterday’s qualifying round crash in such detail, as well as on-board forward and rear hoop angles and sidepod and suspension views.

To augment the Driver’s Eye shots, Fox Sports will key on its heads-up display (HUD) telemetry, including throttle, brake gear, speed and other key data.

(Editor’s note: Live coverage of the Indy 500 begins at 10 a.m. EDT on Fox. The green flag drops at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Coverage is also available via Fox One and the Fox Sports App.)

By The Numbers

Production of the Indianapolis 500 is a massive undertaking—not only in terms of the technology used to cover the race from the 1,000 acres Speedway property, but also the number of people in attendance. About 350,000 people are expected, including 235,000 in the stands, 100,000 in the infield and about 12,000 workers.

To capture the race, Fox Sports will deploy cameras at about 70 positions around the Speedway to supply more than 100 camera fees. Ten cameras will run at up to 240 fps 4x HFR to deliver what the broadcaster is calling “cinema-grade” slow motion. Fourteen RF handheld cameras and six pit-box cameras from NEP Broadcast Sports International (BSI) will provide roaming shots. The broadcaster will also provide some 30 ISO replay channels from five EVS systems.

Fox Sports is producing the race in 1080p HDR with a crew of about 200 production personnel, some of whom have worked on the IndyCar tour for decades. It will distribute its show in 4K UHD.

Drones and Digital Cinema

Fox Sports is adding a third drone to its airborne complement of cameras for this year’s race. Beverly Hills Aerials, which the broadcaster has turned to for major tent pole events, including NASCAR and IndyCar races, is providing the drone camera platforms and piloting them.

“The thing about Indy is it’s just vast,” said Davies. “To get around very quickly on the track, there’s no real substitute for utilizing drones. Motorsports is one of those sports that lends itself to using drones for actual coverage of the sport, not just beauty shots.”

The three drones and a Helivision helicopter will provide first-person view (FPV) shots, aerial coverage of pre-race events and shots of “some of the more histrionics” of the day at the Brickyard, he said.

The use of drones has evolved over time. While Fox Sports will not fly drones of the track during races, drones have become safer with the addition of features like parachutes and other safety equipment that not only ensure safety but make it legally allowed to fly over people, he noted.

“Certainly, from where we were a few years ago, the drone space and the flexibility in how they are used have opened up, and IndyCar has been a fantastic partner in understanding the importance of drones in the coverage and the overall presentation of the of the product,” Davies added.

For its Indy 500 remote studio show, Fox Sports is deploying more than 10 ARRI digital cinema cameras specially outfitted by The Helm to eliminate operational complexity and enable the broadcaster to integrate them into its live production pipeline, he said.

“We've been convinced these cameras have some interesting properties that can help us in terms of light tolerance and the ability to dial up and down a shallow depth of field, depending not just on the look we want but also because there may be things we don’t want viewers to see,” said Davies.

On-Site Production

As with its coverage of last year’s race, Fox Sports again is partnering with Indy Motor Sports (IMS) Productions, which has rolled its HD-5 IP-based mobile production unit to the speedway. The broadcaster is augmenting HD-5’s capabilities with Game Creek’s Ovation mobile unit, which also serves as Fox Sports’ flagship truck for NASCAR coverage.

NEP BSI, which provides end-to-end, turnkey RF and microwave services for race coverage, has brought a truck to the track as well, as has CE+T, which is providing Fox Sports with power. The broadcaster will use about 2 MWs of power, including primary and backup, across the production compound and its remote sets.

Infinite Structures has also built temporary remote offices and broadcast facilities for the production crew. In all, Fox Sports is deploying 12 mobile units for race coverage.

These units make this year’s Indy 500 a rather “old-school” remote production setup, “but it’ll probably be the last one,” said Davies.

“One of the things we saw when we came in to do our first year of IndyCar was that besides Indy itself [the Indianapolis Motor Speedway], there was virtually no other tracks that had the fiber need to even consider doing distributed production,” he said.

Over the past year, Fox Sports has worked with Lumen Technologies to outfit IndyCar tracks with the fiber optic infrastructure needed to support distributed production. “Indy has always been the outlier in that respect because they always had it [fiber] there,” said Davies.

Even though there are some 20 miles of fiber optic cable is in place around the speedway, “we wanted to sort of crawl, walk and run on this, and didn’t sink too many resources into distributed production methods,” he said, adding that next year will be different.

Remember The Future

Distributed production isn’t the only thing Fox Sports is teeing up for next year’s Indy 500 race coverage. Managing RF cameras more efficiently is also planned. “We’re testing a lot to see what we can bring back, maybe not in terms of the number of cameras, but rather in a more intelligent way,” said Davies. “Even if you were able to bring back five cameras from a car—whether it’s an IndyCar or NASCAR—I’m not sure what you’d be able to do with all of that.”

How those remote camera signals are managed is only one part of the next generation of the connected car, however. Radio and location technology are others, he noted.

Currently, Fox Sports relies on SportsMEDIA Technology for GPS location data and is looking at how it is evolving. “Whether it’s NASCAR or IndyCar, we only have two channels of audio coming back from the cars. We need more.”

All of these sources rely on RF connectivity, and Fox Sports is working with Verizon on using a private 5G network to augment that.

“We’ve been working with Verizon to help understand what their technology can do,” said Davies. “You know, the interesting part is that if you’re going to test something and it has to work at the biggest events, then it’s absolutely essential to bring a testing environment into the Indy 500, because if it doesn’t work there or at the Daytona 500 or Talladega, then it doesn’t work.”

SAN FRANCISCO—Fox’s free streaming service Tubi has launched the 2026 FIFA World Cup Fox Hub as a destination for fans and unveiled plans to simulcast live in 4K the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremonies and two matches: Mexico vs. South Africa on Thursday, June 11, and U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) vs. Paraguay on Friday, June 12.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Fox Hub on Tubi is free, requires no subscription and is available across connected televisions, mobile devices and web now and throughout the tournament.

“Nearly a century ago, the World Cup was born out of a desire to bring the world together through sport,” said Deirdre Hesseldieck, senior vice president of product at Tubi. “That mission has never been more relevant, and technology has never been better positioned to extend it. The FIFA World Cup Fox Hub is Tubi’s contribution to that legacy: a free destination designed for a seamless fan experience, where viewers can easily navigate from live coverage and highlights to creator commentary, player interviews, and expert predictions. We built it so fans never lose the thread.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Fox Hub is accessible directly from Tubi's home page and offers such content as:

• Live broadcasts of the opening ceremonies and two matches: Mexico vs. South Africa (June 11) and USMNT vs. Paraguay (June 12)
• Cutdowns, highlights and select replays
• Recaps of the tournament’s best goals, saves, and plays
• A 24/7 feed that includes a combination of Fox Sports’ live digital original programming and best-of-show highlights from the day
• "Destination World Cup 2026" charts the highs and lows in the lives of elite players Weston McKennie (USMNT), Marc Cucurella (Spain) and Harry Wilson (Wales), as they navigate their individual journeys leading up to the tournament.
• “The Other Football” follows Fox Sports’ Rob Gronkowski and Jameis Winston as they take on a new crash course during this weekly vodcast series airing throughout the 2026 World Cup. Each episode will be packed with special guests, pop culture highlights, and lots of comedy. Come along as Gronk and Jameis turn themselves (and America) into diehard soccer fans before the tournament is over.
• Premium Sports Entertainment
• “Twenty Twenty Six” (BBC) is a six-part comedy series starring Hugh Bonneville, who reprises his role as Ian Fletcher to provide a satirical look at the behind-the-scenes chaos of organizing an international soccer competition.
• “Summer of '94” (Fox) chronicles the underdog journey of the 1994 USMNT, a squad that defied the odds on home soil and helped ignite America's love for the sport.
• “Alexi Lalas' State of the Union” (Fox Sports) delivers in-depth analysis of every match throughout the tournament, led by former USMNT player and Fox Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas alongside his co-host, soccer guru David Mosse.
• A trio of Fox Sports roundtables (Fox Sports) gathers some of the most influential figures in soccer ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026™, including former USMNT’s coaches and players, to preview the tournament’s highly anticipated return to North America this summer.
• “Deestroying The Pitch” is a high-energy competition series where YouTube sensation Deestroying assembles soccer’s most passionate fans from this year’s host cities and puts them head-to-head in intense 1v1 matchups to prove whose pride, skill and style truly reign supreme.
• “Jesser's Ultimate Kick Off” follows Jesse “Jesser” Riedel and friends as they take on soccer challenges, ranging from scoring goals to competing against increasingly difficult defenders; available exclusively on Tubi.
• “How to Win the World Cup” (talkSPORT) breaks down soccer's biggest tournament with the people who have actually won it, like Emmanuel Petit and Kléberson alongside greats including Stuart Pearce and Brad Friedel, all hosted by award winning comedian Matt Forde.

LOS ANGELES—CBS LA has concluded a new multi-year agreement with the Los Angeles Rams that will make it the NFL team’s official hometown television partner in the Southern California market and provide it with exclusive rights to air preseason games and other programming.

More specifically, the agreement brings exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games to CBS LA, along with a slate of weekly year-round programming, including a coaches show featuring head coach Sean McVay and original Rams content available exclusively across CBS LA platforms.

In addition to game coverage and weekly shows, the partnership also establishes a joint year-round collaboration focused on community initiatives serving Southern California.

“With nearly 90 hours of news and sports programming every week, CBS LA is uniquely positioned to deliver more Rams coverage than any other media outlet in the market,” said Tim Wieland, regional president and general manager of CBS LA and CBS Colorado. “This partnership is about serving fans, celebrating Los Angeles and extending our shared commitment to the community. We’re proud to once again be the Home of the Rams.”

The agreement marks a return for the Rams to CBS LA.

“CBS LA partnered with us in 2016 when we returned to Los Angeles and helped reintroduce our organization to this city,” said Los Angeles Rams president Kevin Demoff. “We are thrilled to once again team up with CBS LA to bring fans closer to Rams football through our preseason games and exclusive content year-round. This partnership will enable us to deepen our connection with Angelenos through CBS’ dynamic programming as well as shared efforts that will make an impact on the community we all call home.”

DETROIT—The Detroit Pistons have announced a new local media television rights agreement with Scripps Sports beginning with the 2026‑27 NBA season. The deal returns Pistons basketball to local free, over‑the‑air television for the first time since 2005

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement is part of an ongoing push by Scripps to expand its sports programming. Notably, the deal is Scripps’ eighth with a major professional league franchise and its first with an NBA team.

In addition to the Pistons, this lineup includes: WNBA (Las Vegas Aces), NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, Nashville Predators) and NWSL (Denver Summit).

Under the agreement with the Pistons, WMYD TV20 Detroit, owned and operated by The E.W. Scripps Company, will become the official local broadcast home of the Detroit Pistons. TV20 Detroit will produce and air all locally available pre-season and regular season games.

Fans will be able to watch games for free via over‑the‑air television as well as through participating cable and satellite providers in Detroit, the Detroit metro area and the state of Michigan.

Scripps, which operates both TV20 Detroit and WXYZ (Detroit’s ABC affiliate), said it will pair WXYZ’s award-winning local news leadership with TV20 Detroit’s broadcast platform to deliver comprehensive Pistons coverage for fans throughout the market.

“This partnership with Scripps Sports is an exciting moment for the Detroit Pistons,” said Arn Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons. “Basketball has always been deeply woven into the fabric of our city, and we’re proud to expand access to our games. We look forward to partnering with Scripps to deliver outstanding broadcasts and programming that reflects the energy, pride and passion of Detroit.”

“Over-the-air broadcasting has proven to be one of the most powerful ways to connect sports teams with their fans,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports. “As we are seeing right now, the fandom around the Pistons is high and every fan deserves to have access to Detroit Pistons games. Scripps Sports is proud to partner with the Pistons to deliver their games to more fans than ever before – because the best team in the East deserves the best broadcast platform in the NBA.”

As part of the partnership, the Pistons and Scripps Sports will produce comprehensive game‑day coverage, including pregame, in‑game and postgame programming. The agreement also includes a weekly, half‑hour Pistons show, along with original team‑focused content integrated across broadcasts and digital programming across Scripps’ family of channels.

Netflix has announced a major expansion of its NFL coverage in 2026 and beyond, with additional games, holidays, rivalries, and more starting in Week 1 and continuing through Super Bowl week.

Under the expanded Netflix and the NFL’s four-year deal that runs through the 2029-2030 season, Netflix offer five games, beginning with the first regular season game live from Australia featuring the Los Angeles Rams vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Then it will stream its first Thanksgiving Eve matchup (the Green Bay Packers vs. the Los Angeles Rams), two games on Christmas Day and a game in Week 18 during the 2026-2027 season.

Netflix will also rights to stream the NFL Honors during Super Bowl week in 2027.

The news continues an ongoing shift of games to streaming that has prompted some calls from the Federal Communications Commission, President Trump, Congress and broadcasters to protect consumer free access to games.

Netflix’s NFL games in 2026 will be available in over 200 countries around the world. These games will also be available on local, over-the-air broadcast television in the respective team markets.

In addition to the on-field action, Netflix will also stream the NFL Honors globally, showcasing the league’s annual awards presentation the week of the Super Bowl.

During its 2026 Upfronts presentation, Netflix also announced that starting in 2027, Netflix’s ads plan will expand to 15 new countries, including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand, giving members more affordable plan options and advertisers more opportunities to reach our audience.

Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s President of Advertising said, “we’ve got cutting-edge technology, we’ve got great entertainment across shows, movies, podcasts, and live events, and we’ve got the most engaged and attentive audience. We’ve proven we’re effective, and now we’re expanding ads to more places and we’re ready to compete with anyone.”

Netflix with ads now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers. These viewers are deeply engaged: over 80% of ads members are actively watching every week.

The presentation Netflix also announced a number of improvements to its ad-technologies.

It is expanding programmatic capabilities to Pause Ads and Live using our Dynamic Ad Insertion technology. Clients can now buy both via their preferred DSP partner, making campaigns even more targeted and personalized. These will be available this summer in the US and Canada, and other countries by the end of this year.

In addition, it is enabling programmatic audience targeting for all ad-supported countries on Amazon DSP by June 1 and Yahoo DSP in the months to follow. And, it is expanding optimization tools for advertisers, including the ability to maximize conversions and outcomes to deliver the best possible results for Netflix buys.

It also stressed that it continues to expand its AI-capabilities for advertisers.

The streamer said it is now offering AI-driven tooling to develop and optimize media plans based on brands’ objectives, and are testing AI agents to manage, optimize, and purchase ads on Netflix.

In addition, it is leveraging AI to adapt existing advertiser assets so they look great in different canvases across the service – like vertical video ads or pause ads.

Last year, Netflix began using AI to marry advertiser ad creative with the shows, films, and worlds that are popular with its subscribers. It recently tested those capabilities with DoorDash, Target, and TurboTax, and have significantly improved the quality and execution. It is now bringing this capability to every ad-supported region by the end of the year.

MONTREAL—Grass Valley has announced that U.K.-based systems integrator dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass that feature Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras and K-Frame production switching technology.

The trucks will be used for live sports production across the UK.

Designed for high-end sports broadcasting, the compact, fast-deploy OB units combine UHD, HDR and high-frame-rate production capabilities with a modern IP-based infrastructure. The trucks support centralized production operations and evolving remote and distributed production models, enabling Cloudbass to deliver premium-quality coverage across top-tier football and major live sporting events.

The deployment features 32 Grass Valley LDX 150 native IP camera systems, delivering the imaging performance, operational flexibility and Native-IP connectivity required for premium live sports production. The cameras support SMPTE ST 2110 workflows directly from the camera head and are designed to help production teams transition efficiently to scalable live production environments.

The project also incorporates Grass Valley’s Creative Grading tools to support centralized camera shading workflows, alongside K-Frame production switching capabilities as part of the overall live production architecture.

“Sports broadcasters and production providers are increasingly looking for ways to expand UHD and HDR capabilities while maintaining operational efficiency and flexibility,” said Mark Gardner, senior vice president of sales, EMEA at Grass Valley. “These new Cloudbass trucks demonstrate how native IP production, centralized shading workflows and scalable live production technologies can be combined in a compact environment built for the realities of modern sports production.”

The new units feature fully IP-based workflows and are designed to support remote operations, dynamic configurations and evolving broadcast requirements. The integration was led by dB Broadcast, a long-standing Grass Valley partner with extensive experience in complex broadcast systems integration.

“This project was about delivering a future-ready IP architecture without compromising the operational practicalities of live OB production,” said Mike Bryan, technology director at dB Broadcast. “By standardising on Grass Valley’s LDX 100 native IP camera platform, Creative Grading and K-Frame technologies, we can provide Cloudbass with a consistent production environment from acquisition through to live production switching.

Supporting around 15 cameras per truck, including UHD and HDR high-speed production workflows, the new units are optimized for long-term sports production contracts while maintaining the flexibility required for evolving sports production workflows.

Grass Valley will be showing these and other solutions at booth B55 at MPTS at Olympia London on May 13–14, 2026.

SAN JOSE, Calif. and NEW YORK, NY—Roku has announced that it will be the North American streaming home for the inaugural Enhanced Games on May 24.

The Enhanced Games are an elite sports competition that aims to celebrate athletic excellence while exploring the limits of human performance with scientific innovation and medically approved performance enhancement usage.

The first-of-its-kind sporting event, available for free on the Roku Sports Channel in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Hosted by former NFL player and sports media star Emmanuel Acho, the Enhanced Games will also feature documented longevity expert Bryan Johnson as a Human Enhancement Analyst.

Participating athletes include the legendary Hafþór Júlíus “Thor” Björnsson, known for his role as “The Mountain” on “Game of Thrones,” British Olympic medalist Ben Proud, American Olympic medalist Fred Kerley, and Olympic weightlifter Boady Santavy. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Hunter Armstrong of the U.S. and sprinter Tristan Evelyn of Barbados will also take on the field as non-enhanced athletes.

The Enhanced Games will take place in a purpose-built 2500-seat venue on the grounds of Resorts World in Las Vegas, with swimming, sprinting, and weightlifting events occurring in one arena. Las Vegas’ own The Killers are set to headline the closing ceremonies.

“We look forward to bringing Roku users across North America the excitement and energy of this one-of-a-kind competition,” said Joe Franzetta, head of sports, Roku. “Congratulations to Enhanced Games on their inaugural event, and we’re excited to work together to bring this live event to millions of viewers.”

“As a new and innovative live sports property, we are ecstatic to have Roku as our official North American partner,” said Maximilian Martin, CEO of Enhanced. “Roku provides us immense reach and helps establish a solid foundation as we aim to revolutionize sports with our inaugural event.”

The Enhanced Games endeavor to ensure the athletes’ safety through rigorous medical supervision and scientific oversight. Athletes have been monitored under an approved clinical trial for 16 weeks while training in the UAE. All athletes have the autonomy to compete either naturally or through the Enhanced Medical Program (clinical trial). For more details, see www.enhanced.com.

The Enhanced Games is a Van Wagner production in association with Lionsgate Alternative Television.

RALEIGH, N.C. & NEW YORK, N.Y.—PlayMetrics, a major provider of operations management software for youth sports organizations, has completed its acquisition of substantially all the assets of SportsEngine from Versant Media Group, Inc.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction includes SportsEngine's full suite of software and payments products, including its club, league, tournament, and studio management platforms.

Prior to the spinoff of NBCUniversal spinning off its cable networks into Versant in early 2026, SportsEngine had been part of NBC Sport Next.

"PlayMetrics has redefined what technology can do for youth sports — and this acquisition accelerates that mission further and faster than we could before,” said Mike Doernberg, CEO of PlayMetrics. “SportsEngine customers can expect the same great service they rely on today and will gain access to the full depth of technology offerings PlayMetrics has built. Our goal is singular and we won't stop until we've achieved it: build the best platform for youth sports operators.”

The addition of SportsEngine strengthens PlayMetrics' capabilities as a comprehensive operating system for clubs, leagues, tournaments, and governing bodies, expanding its services across the youth sports segment and bringing new organizations and users onto its platform, the companies said.

SportsEngine provides scaled technology and services to simplify and grow youth sports. Its portfolio of software offerings includes SportsEngine HQ for club, league, and team management; SportsEngine Motion for studio and class-based sports; SportsEngine Tourney for tournament management; SportsEngine Play for live and on-demand video and training content; and SportsEngine AES for volleyball competition management.

Ropes & Gray acted as legal counsel and LionTree Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to PlayMetrics. Gibson Dunn acted as legal counsel and Lazard acted as exclusive financial advisor to VSNT.

NEW YORK—A new Nielsen report on Asian and Asian-American content and audiences indicates that Asian-led stories, talent, and cultural touchpoints are driving engagement and viewership across every major demographic group, not just Asian American audiences.

The new 2026 report “The Crossover Effect: AANHPI Audiences X Content” found that “K-Pop Demon Hunters” delivered 20.5 billion minutes of viewing as the #1 streamed movie of 2025 among Hispanic, Asian, Black, and White viewers and that “BTS: The Return” drew 47 million minutes of viewing in its first seven days with 73% of the audience being non-Asian.

“The proliferation of Asian and Asian American-driven content is not a trend, it’s a mainstream cultural movement,” said Stacie deArmas, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Consumer Engagement, Nielsen. “Nielsen’s new report underscores how content championed by this community is creating measurable value for brands and media buyers looking to reach mass audiences. And once again, shines a light on our unique ability to measure these diverse audiences with meaningful insights.”

“AAANHPI creators and talent are not only reaching global audiences—they are shaping what audiences watch, celebrate, and share,” said Bing Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Gold House. “These are not just symbols—they’re signals. For brands and media leaders, this represents a clear opportunity to connect through stories and moments that resonate far beyond any one community.”

The report also delved into the impact of sports on Asian-American viewers, finding that in 2025, 91 of the Top 100 broadcast programs for Asian American viewers were sports events.

Nielsen's “The Crossover Effect: AANHPI Audiences X Content” also digs into how Asian and Asian American athletes command broad audiences in high-profile competitive moments, often functioning as audience multipliers in ways that extend well beyond their sport's existing fanbase. Among recent examples noted in the report from the past year include:

• Alysa Liu's gold medal free skate at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics drew 26.7 million viewers on NBC/Peacock, the largest Winter Games weekday audience since 2014. This broke a 20-year U.S. women's figure skating gold medal drought.
• Shohei Ohtani has delivered a consistent version of the same effect across multiple baseball seasons. AANHPI viewership of the 2024 World Series on FOX rose 146% year over year, and Asian viewership of the 2025 MLB Tokyo Series increased 113% compared to the 2024 Seoul Series.
• The 2026 World Baseball Classic featuring teams from Japan, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei, was a turning point for baseball as a global cultural event. For the first time, the tournament averaged over 1.3 million viewers on FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes more than double 2023 (621K) and more than triple 2017 (403K).

Additional notable insights in the report include the following:

• K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix was the most-streamed original movie of 2025, with 20.5 billion minutes. The movie charted on the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for 26 consecutive weeks and reached the #1 movie position 10 times following its June premiere. The viewing patterns showed substantial fandom across audience segments including Teens 12-17, Adults 18-34, and Adults 35-49, ending the year as the #1 movie among Hispanic, Asian, Black, and White viewers.
• The numbers for Netflix’s BTS: The Return tell a powerful story of cross-generational and cross-cultural connection, delivering 47 million minutes of viewing in its first seven days. Interestingly, while Gen Z drove a solid 26% of the audience, nearly 60% of viewers were Gen X and Millennials, proving this fandom is a multi-generational powerhouse. Most notably, 73% of the audience was non-Asian, showing that "K-Power" has built a digital bridge that redefines fandom.
• Korean-language titles including Squid Game (Netflix) and Alice in Borderland (Netflix) delivered strong cross-demographic performance throughout 2025. Squid Game ranked #2 in the Asian P2+ Nielsen Top 10 for all of 2025 with 1.6 billion minutes. Alice in Borderland (11.1% Asian audience composition) and Your Majesty (18.5%) both performed well above platform averages for Asian American viewership while delivering the broad audiences that make these titles valuable for brand adjacency. Asian American audiences also help deliver strong viewership for top performers such as Stranger Things #1 (Netflix), Friends #7 (HBO Max), and Resident Alien #8 (Peacock).
• Anime continues to be a major source of high-engagement fandom. The top 10 Anime series in January and February delivered a combined 5.3 Billion minutes viewed. One Piece on Netflix led all anime series in total volume with 1.242 billion minutes in January and February 2026 alone.

The report was developed in collaboration with Gold House, a leading cultural ecosystem advancing AANHPI creators and companies across entertainment, media, and business, combining Nielsen’s measurement with deep cultural insight into the forces driving global fandom and engagement.

More information on The Crossover Effect: AANHPI Audiences X Content can be found at Nielsen.com.

The GV Forum offers broadcasters and other media professionals the chance to address the pressing issues of the day.

At this year’s forum, April 18 at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, those issues ranged from software-defined workflows and new operating models for live and linear media production to artificial intelligence and aligning business and tech strategies.

The following snapshot from GV Forum offers a glimpse into some of the insights and experiences of media pros who spoke at the event.

Dynamic Streaming

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, offered CBC/Radio Canada a chance to see if the concept of a Dynamic Media Facility could deliver on its promises of agility, flexibility and scalability, said Francois Legrand, the broadcaster’s senior director at its Innovation Hub.

“We wanted to find a way to improve the production value of our digital streams without increasing the cost and maybe at the same time generate additional revenue,” said Legrand.

For its streaming coverage of curling, CBC replaced an entire production control room with a Grass Valley AMPP-based software-defined production workflow running on a server and an operator controlling the production from a laptop via a custom, CBC-built interface.

“We wanted graphics, video, audio—everything—in the same tool to have the same unified interface, not multiple windows and multiple screens,” he said. The operator could also add commercial breaks via the interface.

CBC found it to be much easier to build the interface than expected due to the “great API,” said Legrand, adding the interface enabled the operator to do bumpers and stings, add graphics, lower-thirds and perform squeeze backs.

The broadcaster targeted operational simplicity when creating the interface, providing only “the right amount of tool to do the job assigned,” thereby minimizing the amount of training time needed and operator expense, he said.

The software-defined workflow proved to be a success. Not only did it support insertion of 676 branded promos during multiple games, production of 144 hours of content and delivery to some 500,000 streaming viewers for some matches, but it also proved to be quite agile and flexible, said Legrand.

Automation, Orchestration and AI

Globo, like other broadcasters, is being asked to address the appetite of viewers for more live sports coverage without significantly larger budgets, creating the need “to do more with less,” said Mauricio Felix Vasconcellos, Globo executive director of technology.

The first step in achieving that goal is to have the right technology in place. “We need a platform that can guarantee that we can orchestrate it and change quickly,” he said.

“We believe we can reduce the operational requirements a lot with automation, orchestration and using artificial intelligence,” said Vasconcellos.

While technology costs money, it can also enhance the efficiency of staff to enable Globo to do more with less. “Today we operate in a control room with six or seven people,” he said. “How can we reduce that to two multi-skilled people so we can do more events at the same time?”

The right technology can make workflows more efficient, transforming the business to achieve this productivity goal, he said.

Getting to a platform that can unlock these workflow benefits, however, will require Globo to transition to IP to leverage the benefits the IT world brings to the table, he said.

“With IP, we can have the flexibility to use the network and infrastructure as we want,” said Vasconcellos. “This is where we want to get, and that is why it is important we keep focusing on our partners.”

The technical component to workflow efficiency also involves an orchestration layer with the intelligence to enable production of multiple sports at the same time or multiple newscasts simultaneously while accommodating the specific capabilities and characteristics of different operators, he said.

The cloud, too, will play an important role going forward. “I see that three years from now, we are going to improve the interoperability between cloud and on premise. MXL is coming. I think in two or three years things are going to get simplified and streamlined.”

Software-Defined Live Production

Enhancing production efficiency is a priority at Warner Bros. Discovery, said company vice president, operations, Chris Brown, and the media giant’s “integration rooms,” the production control rooms sitting between multiple sites, game sites and its studios, have been a great place to start.

“We looked at where we could save a little bit of money, become a little bit more efficient because of all of what it [software-defined production] promises as far as the reduction of staffing,” he said.

Deployed for “some time now,” the GV AMPP-based software-defined live production workflow is enabling Warner Bros. Discovery to run those rooms consistently with no engineering.

To a casual observer, the Warner Bros. Discovery’s integration rooms look a lot like a traditional control room. But upon second glance, there are only control surfaces and some monitoring—no other equipment. “There are just HEVC streams coming from the cloud or on-prem, depending on where you’re running it,” he said.

Production teams simply enter an integration room, decide what they want to do and provision the room as required via GV AMPP’s API orchestration, he said.

Pressing a single button provisions the room to the production requirements of a specific live show. “It will spin up an AWS machine, deploy the GV workspace, spin them all up and wire them all together,” he said. “Then what you see are monitors light up and pictures appear so you can do the production.”

“What we’re hoping to be able to get to is a place where we can then begin to realize an economy of scale with the [Elgato] Stream Deck [control surface] in conjunction with AMPP,” said Brown. “Ideally, we are hoping to keep it that simple.”

AI and simplification: It’s not so easy

One of the biggest challenges facing Sky is the complexity of delivering content across multiple platforms via IP, said Dave Travis, group director of content, broadcast and platforms, at Sky.

“That puts a lot of pressure on our team,” said Travis. “So, our biggest priority is managing that demand and trying to simplify. Simplification is absolutely critical, not just to Sky but to the industry at large. I think in the future, we need to make it easier across the board.”

Artificial intelligence holds the key to simplification, but it is not without risk. Noting Sky would like to introduce AI to address a range of issues, including its software development lifecycle where it could accelerate how Sky develops code, Travis said adopting artificial intelligence remains a challenge due to concerns over security and corporate compliance.

“It is a real big challenge. Some are doing AI really quickly,” he said. “If you're a small organization and don't seem to have the same corporate compliance obstacles, that may be possible. But we're a big organization, and we want to protect ourselves.”

One path forward may be promoting collaboration among various stakeholders in the industry. Still, he fears even these collaborations could lead to “an arms race patching” vulnerabilities—something he is unsure about managing. “I think our CTO conversations and technology leadership calls are going to very much focused on that properly for the foreseeable future. We have to really learn together and find a solution for that problem.”

About Grass Valley

Grass Valley drives the future of media production with seamless, scalable solutions that empower top content creators. Its integrated ecosystem—featuring industry-leading hardware, the AMPP Media Operating System, and a robust Alliance Partner network—enables efficient content production, management, and distribution.

From live global events to browser-based independent projects, Grass Valley maximizes content value, streamlines workflows, and future-proofs media operations.

With over 65 years of innovation and a commitment to open, agile solutions, Grass Valley is leading the media revolution and shaping the future of storytelling. https://www.grassvalley.com/

WASHINGTON—Philanthropist and businesswoman Gayle Benson will receive the 2026 Celebration of Service to America Leadership Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF).

Benson will be recognized for her civic and humanitarian contributions during the Celebration of Service to America Awards gala, presented by Bonneville International and Hearst Television, June 9, at The Anthem music venue in Washington, D.C.

One of the most powerful women in sports according to Forbes, Benson is a community investor, advocate and corporate citizen who is focused on growing and enriching the Gulf South region and improving lives through her initiatives in health and wellness, cancer care, education and the arts.

As the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, Benson has made giving back to the city a hallmark of her leadership. She annually gives millions of dollars annually in financial support, in-kind donations, charitable appearances and goods and services to those in need.

Benson is the steward of the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, carrying forward her husband’s vision and passion for helping others. She works closely alongside organizations like the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

She helped to establish The Gayle and Tom Benson Disaster Relief Fund to support first responders and vulnerable families, and she is particularly devoted to initiatives for young women, such as STEM programs in schools and leadership training. She is also currently building The Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital on the Ochsner Medical Center campus in New Orleans featuring a dedicated pediatric emergency department, a Level IV Surgical NICU and AI technology.

“Gayle Benson truly embodies the values of philanthropy through her work to support, educate and care for others, especially in her hometown of New Orleans and surrounding areas,” said NABLF president Michelle Duke. “We are thrilled to be honoring Mrs. Benson and her legacy of long-term, positive and sustainable impact with the Foundation’s Leadership Award, our highest individual commendation for service.”

Beyond her community impact, Benson is an active and respected leader in professional sports. In 2025, she was appointed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as co-chair of the National Football League (NFL) Legislative Committee, where she helps guide the league’s government relations strategy. She also serves on the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Labor Relations Committee and has been a member of the NBA Foundation Board of Directors since 2020.

Benson also played a key role in launching the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network (GCSEN), a regional broadcast and digital platform designed to elevate local sports, culture and community storytelling.

More information is available on the NABLF website.

More information about the gala is available online.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has issued a public notice designating Louis Libin as special frequency coordinator and RF spectrum manager for the the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The notice also detailed how RF spectrum will be coordinated during the 39-day global men’s soccer tournament and detailed some waivers of FCC rules.

The move makes Libin, vice president of spectrum policy and engineering at Sinclair Broadcast Group, the single point of contact for coordinating Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) operations during the World Cup. Tournament matches are being staged in 11 U.S. cities, as well as cities in co-host countries Canada and Mexico. Some 6 billion viewers worldwide are expected to watch the June 11-July 19 tournament via broadcast, streaming and digital platforms. Fox is the U.S. World Cup rightsholder.

In addition, the FCC also granted waivers to permit low-power auxiliary operators. Low-power auxiliary operations are a subset of BAS operations.

BAS stations, which are licensed under Part 74 of the Commission’s rules, make it possible for television and radio stations and networks to transmit program material between various locations (e.g., from remote sites of breaking news stories or other live events to television studios, from studios to broadcasting transmitters for delivery to consumers, and between broadcast stations).

In addition to licensed BAS stations, section 74.24 of the Commission’s rules allows eligible broadcasters to operate BAS stations on a short-term basis, not to exceed 720 hours annually, without prior Commission authorization.

FWC 2026, a subsidiary of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), had previously requested that the agency designate Libin as the coordinator.

The FCC noted that BAS frequency coordinators are often named in connection with major events such as national political conventions, presidential inaugurations, the Olympic Games, and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

In a filing with the FCC, FWC 2026 said it expects extensive video, audio, and data coverage of WC26 and extensive use of wireless equipment.

FWC 2026 anticipates that over 2,700 pieces of equipment, such as interruptible foldback systems for real time communication, wireless intercoms and talkbacks for production crews, and RF audio links for sound mixing and audio routing, will be utilized during WC26 to support over 300 media agencies.

Based on FWC’s recommendation, the FCC said it finds “that appointing Louis Libin as the special frequency coordinator will facilitate WC26, and will serve the public interest. Mr. Libin has extensive experience in coordinating frequency use for a variety of national and international events.”

The FCC said the designated frequency coordination period will start five days before each venue’s initial match and conclude one day after each venue’s last match so that FWC 2026 can prepare the RF environment to ensure spectrum readiness before matches begin and can oversee a controlled shutdown of the venues.

This designation will also allow for advance coordination of auxiliary broadcast frequency usage in the designated areas.

The FCC said Libin can be reached for frequency coordination at (516) 374-6700 or by email at louislibin@broad-comm.com.

In addition to the operations discussed above, the FCC noted that the event will see the potential use of unlicensed next-generation devices operating in TV white spaces.

In an filing with the FCC, FWC 2026 also requested that the Commission grant a waiver of the distance-separation requirement to permit the use of low power auxiliary stations (LPAS), not to exceed 1 watt of power on channels allocated for TV broadcasting where the nearest operating television station transmitter is located at least 40 kilometers from the event venues.

Similarly, FWC 2026 requested that the commission grant a waiver of rules that limits the power for LPAS operating in the 600-MHz duplex gap and the bands allocated for TV broadcasting.

FWC 2026 has requsted these waivers to “accommodate specialized equipment required for reliable and robust operations in large, open-air stadium environments,” including equipment necessary to support international broadcast systems, in-stadium long-range coordination, wireless intercoms and public safety communications, the filing said.

More information on the FCC’s decision to grant those waivers, affected venues and the process of coordinating spectrum during the games can be found here.

NEW YORK—Nielsen has released data from its co-viewing pilot for February’s top live televised events that shows an average +4.19% lift in total viewers.

The data covered the following major live events: the Super Bowl; the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics; the NBA All-Star Game; the Daytona 500; the Olympics closing ceremony and men’s hockey gold medal game; and the State of the Union address.

For the pilot, Nielsen leveraged state-of-the-art wearable devices to more accurately capture shared viewing.

The co-viewing results from the pilot program will not be included in the final and official Big Data + panel ratings for Nielsen clients and, as a result, will not be considered “currency” that advertisers can transact on.

But Nielsen said it plans to have the co-viewing methodology enhancement fully implemented into its suite of media intelligence products, with a goal to incorporate it into “currency” measurement for the 2026-2027 TV season.

“Our co-viewing pilot exemplifies our unwavering commitment to providing the most accurate measurement for our clients during these dynamic times of change,” Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said. “In the past year alone, we’ve made continued enhancements to our ratings to better reflect the power of live TV in reaching massive audiences.”

Nielsen’s co-viewing enhancement layers in panelists using wearable devices inside of the home. Those wearable devices were not previously applied to the co-viewing modeling, as Nielsen has been introducing more high-tech wearables into its panel.

STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports is reporting that it averaged 4.9 million viewers through its first 13 games of the NBA Playoffs on NBC and Peacock, which it said was up 58% vs. comparable coverage last year from April 19 to 28 and the most-watched for comparable windows since 1996.

The comparison is to games airing on other outlets because this is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting the NBA Playoffs.

NBC Sports’ second week of NBA Playoffs coverage, April 25-28, averaged 4.9 million viewers for seven games across NBC and Peacock, the most-watched for comparable windows since 2001.

Following are viewership* highlights for NBC Sports’ NBA Playoffs coverage from Saturday, April 25, through Tuesday, April 28 (all viewership is Total Audience Delivery across NBC and Peacock unless noted):

• Thunder-Suns Game 3 (Saturday, April 25, 3:30-6:08 pm ET) averaged 3.3 million viewers, up 64% vs. the comparable game last year and making it the most-watched game in the comparable window since 2014. It peaked at 4.5 million viewers.
• Knicks-Hawks Game 4 (Saturday, April 25, 6:08-9:00 pm ET) peaked at 5.8 million viewers and averaged 5.3 million, up 58% vs. the comparable game last year and making it the most-watched game in the comparable window since 2001.
• Celtics-76ers Game 4 (Sunday, April 26, 7:00-9:38 pm ET) peaked at 7.0 million viewers and averaged 6.3 million for the game, making it the most-watched game of the 2026 NBA Playoffs to date and the most-watched First Round Game 4 in primetime ever.
• Lakers-Rockets Game 4 (Sunday, April 26, 9:38pm-12:20am ET) peaked at 7.2 million viewers -- the highest peak of the 2026 NBA Playoffs to date – and averaged 6.2 million for the game, up 128% vs. the comparable game last year and making it the second-most-watched game of the playoffs to date.
• The two-game average of 6.2 million viewers for Sunday, April 26 ranks as the most-watched second Sunday of the NBA Playoffs since 2002.
• Pistons-Magic Game 4 (Monday, April 27, 8:00-10:59 pm ET) peaked at 6.8 million viewers and averaged 5.4 million, up 155% vs. the comparable game last season and making it the most-watched Round 1 Game 4 on a weekday ever.
• Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 5 (Monday, April 27, 10:59pm-1:21am ET) peaked at 5.2 million viewers and averaged 3.9 million.
• Hawks-Knicks Game 5 (Tuesday, April 28, 8:07-10:52 pm ET) peaked at 4.3 million viewers and averaged 3.8 million viewers. It was the most-watched sporting event of the night.

NBC Sports also streamed two games on Peacock and NBCSN from April 25-28.

Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, and digital data from Adobe Analytic

NEW YORK—Major League Soccer (MLS) has announced the 2026 list of companies that will be participating in its MLS Innovation Lab.

The initiative, which is focused on identifying, deploying and scaling the next generation of sports technology and is now in its third year, brings together leading startups from around the world to actively test and prove cutting-edge solutions in three areas of focus: player performance, fan engagement, and media production.

This year's cohort is focused on testing AI solutions that league said are pushing the boundaries of how soccer is played, analyzed, and experienced.

"With each new cohort, MLS Innovation Lab continues to surface technologies that have the potential to meaningfully impact how the game is played, experienced, and consumed," said Chris Schlosser, MLS senior vice president of Emerging Ventures. "This group represents a strong mix of real-world AI technologies that can have immediate impact across athlete performance, television production, and fan-focused innovation, and we look forward to working with each of them to drive important outcomes for our players, fans and Clubs."

The MLS Innovation Lab aims to give participating companies the opportunity to build and test their technologies in real-world MLS environments such as the 2026 MLS All-Star Game presented by Chime, as well as elite youth competitions like MLS NEXT Fest and Generation adidas Cup and premier events including MLS NEXT Cup and the MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate.

This real-world testing gives MLS an early look at emerging AI technologies that can shape the future of the industry for years to come.

After a competitive global selection process, the five companies chosen for the third MLS Innovation Lab cohort will deploy solutions designed to address real challenges across the soccer ecosystem. The league described the companies as follows:

• Springbok Analytics: Springbok Analytics uses AI to transform MRI data into detailed 3D muscle analytics, enabling the precise tracking of muscle health, performance, and injury risk which supports data-driven decision-making for teams, leagues, and clinical research.
• Orreco: Orreco is a global leader in sports bio-analytics, using AI, computer vision, and biomarker data to optimize athlete performance, predict injury risk, and accelerate recovery, trusted by elite teams and athletes across major leagues worldwide.
• Fit:match: Fit:match.ai is a player identification and assessment platform that uses mobile devices, AI, and computer vision to capture detailed body data. It generates a full 3D avatar with measurable physical insights in seconds, providing clubs with standardized information to support talent evaluation, inform development decisions, and enable more consistent comparisons across players.
• Advanced Image Robotics (AIR): AIR makes broadcast-grade sports video production radically more accessible. Their AI-powered robotic camera systems combine automated tracking with remote operator control — enabling leagues, teams, and broadcasters to capture dynamic game and player footage at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional production.
• WMT AI Ticketing: WMT AI Ticketing optimizes pricing and distribution in real time by analyzing fan behavior, demand and market dynamics. These capabilities help sports and entertainment organizations move beyond static pricing, maximize ticket revenue and make faster, data-driven decisions.

For more information on MLS Innovation Lab, or to be considered for future cohorts, visit MLSSoccer.com/InnovationLab.

BURBANK, Calif.—The CW Network has announced major streaming deals with ESPN and The Roku Channel that will greatly expand the availability of its sports and entertainment programming on major streaming platforms.

In terms of sports, The CW and ESPN reported that they are teaming up to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events, combining premium sports offerings into a single viewer-friendly experience through this groundbreaking agreement.

All CW Sports will broadcast live on The CW Network as well as stream live on the ESPN App for fans with an ESPN Unlimited subscription plan, including live coverage of college football and men’s and women’s basketball from the ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, WWE NXT, PBA Bowling, PBR Bull Riding, AVP volleyball and the 2026 Arizona Bowl.

Fans with an ESPN Unlimited plan subscription will have the opportunity to watch all CW Sports offerings live on any device with the ESPN App as a complement to The CW’s free over-the-air broadcast model nationwide.

CW Sports on the ESPN App is expected to launch in Summer 2026.

“Joining forces with ESPN is a monumental next step in the evolution of CW Sports,” said Brad Schwartz, president, The CW Network. “The CW now offers more than 800 hours of premium live sports per year. This agreement extends the reach of CW Sports and enables us to capture audiences across the best of broadcast and the best of streaming, ensuring fans can access live CW Sports wherever they are and on whatever device they prefer. This new partnership will allow us to connect seamlessly with our audiences everywhere—from football and basketball to motorsports, professional wrestling, bowling, bull riding, and much more to come as CW Sports continues its exciting march forward.”

In addition, the network announced a partnership with Roku launching in Fall 2026 that will bring CW entertainment programming to The Roku Channel for next-day streaming.

The agreement will bring scripted and unscripted CW programming to more than half of U.S. broadband households via a CW-branded hub on The Roku Channel. Additionally, new installments of WWE NXT will be made available to stream on The Roku Channel every Wednesday following its live Tuesday night broadcast on The CW.

“Partnering with Roku supercharges the reach and accessibility of The CW’s premium entertainment content,” Schwartz added. “By combining The Roku Channel’s expansive audience with The CW’s nationwide linear footprint, we’re bringing together the best of broadcast with the best of streaming to unlock unprecedented scale for our content, our audience, and our advertisers.”

In addition to the fresh next-day premium broadcast content, The CW hub on The Roku Channel will feature over 800 hours of CW library content.

A new note to investors from financial analysts at LightShed Partners poses the controversial question of whether broadcast networks should scrap entertainment programming given the long-term declines for non-sports programming and the fact that NFL games now dominate the list of most popular programming.

Citing data from the NFL’s recent meeting with the Federal Communications Commission, analysts Richard Greenfield, Brandon Ross and Mark Kelley write that it has become apparent “how irrelevant all non-sports programming is to broadcast TV viewership…Over the past 20 years non-sports broadcast primetime viewership is down over 75%, while NFL regular season viewership is up over 30% over the same period. Even more stunning is that NFL viewership on CBS and NBC reached all-time highs last season, despite all the cord-cutting that has shrunk the reach of broadcast TV.”

“The obvious question is why broadcast networks bother investing in general entertainment programming,” they wrote. “Given that general entertainment programming is not driving retransmission consent fees, if any of these forms of programming cannot cover their production costs via advertising and streaming syndication revenues, should they exist at all? It is beyond obvious that broadcast networks and stations drive retrans fees of $5/sub/month and growing from NFL programming alone; no other programming matters.”

The NFL also clearly understands its value and is in the process of renegotiating higher rights fees. Those higher licensing fees could mean that “broadcast networks may be forced to cut back on general entertainment programming that does not cover its production costs, reduce the cost of programming or shift even more of that content to streaming platforms (AI should help with this).”

This also raises the question of “why Disney needs to be in the linear TV business as part of our long-term strategic questions for management.”

More on this is available here and here.

NEW YORK—The WNBA has released its 18-game preseason schedule for 2026 and announced that in addition to four national broadcasts on Ion, every preseason game will be available via WNBA League Pass for free.

Fans can stream these games for free in the WNBA App by signing up or logging in with a WNBA ID to unlock the preseason preview. This marks the second consecutive year that the entire preseason slate will be available to fans via the out-of-market streaming service. Information on the Canadian television broadcast and streaming schedule will be released at a later date.

“We’re seeing unprecedented demand for the WNBA, and WNBA ID is helping us meet that moment by making every preseason game available to fans for free,” WNBA chief growth officer Colie Edison said.

The WNBA’s 2026 preseason action tips off Saturday, April 25, with a five-game slate. That day also features the first of four nationally broadcast games on Iib, when two-time All Star Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever visit the New York Liberty and former Kia WNBA MVPs Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart at Barclays Center (3 p.m. ET).