Over the past decade, European sports broadcasting has been defined by one word: experimentation. New workflows, new camera angles, new distribution models, new formats and newly emerging platforms have kept the industry in a constant state of trial and error. However, we believe that 2026 marks the moment when the sector stops experimenting for experimentation’s sake and starts evolving with purpose. After years of pilots, proofs of concept and cautious innovation, the most important trends will transform into a clear direction; one driven by economics, technology maturity and a fundamental shift in how fans consume sport.
One of the clearest shifts in 2026 in our opinion will be a more decisive move towards centralised production. This is not merely a cost-saving exercise or a full migration into cloud; it is a hybrid evolution where sports, especially smaller or mid-tier leagues, realise the efficiencies of centralising their production infrastructure. This shift is being driven by practicality: travel, staffing and logistics have become expensive and unpredictable to scale using traditional OB models.
In 2026 we foresee a transformational change in attitude towards centralisation, where it is no longer viewed as ‘temporary’ or ‘alternative’. For smaller federations, it will become more of the default. For mid-sized leagues, it will become the competitive edge that allows them to produce consistently without relying entirely on external partners. The largest rights holders may evolve more slowly, tied to major broadcaster partnerships, but the gravitational pull is unmistakable: production is consolidating, virtualising and optimising.
A major transformation in 2026 will stem from a deeper economic reality: rights holders’ willingness to keep spending more on each cycle has reached its limit. Subscription fatigue and revenue caps mean broadcasters can’t always justify paying more for rights and this, in turn, fundamentally reshapes the ecosystem, as federations and leagues increasingly recognise that to grow they must own more of their content lifecycle, from capture to distribution to monetisation.
This starts at the lower tiers. Smaller leagues in smaller European nations are already moving aggressively into self-production, partly for control and partly for new revenue opportunities. By the end of 2026, we will see the trend climbing the ladder. Owning production means owning the raw material for everything else: highlights, social clips, documentaries, archive monetisation, sponsorship inventory and digital experiences.
For federations, content ownership becomes not only a brand-building pillar but a survival strategy.
Alongside ownership comes the acceleration of short-form content. Younger fans do not sit through long live broadcasts or even long highlight shows the way older generations do. They graze and scroll. They want moments, narratives and personality-driven fragments that keep them connected between live events.
This shift is described as one of the most significant forces shaping production strategies. By the end of 2026, short-form won’t merely be growing, it will be entrenched as a core output of every production. Live broadcasts still matter and full-length highlights remain valuable, however the new battleground is the days between events, matches and race days.
Teams and federations are building brands through:
Critically, every piece of content serves a strategic purpose, creating digital touchpoints that drive revenue, whether through sponsorship, fan engagement, merchandise or subscription pathways.
With rights revenue plateauing, 2026 is the year we believe we will see the industry move towards ‘incremental gain’ strategies. These are not glamorous, but they are transformative.
Clubs and federations are discovering new ways to monetise assets they already own. For example, reusing archive footage but digitally replacing historical advertising boards with new sponsors. This is a simple concept with enormous potential, and it reflects the broader trend by reworking assets, reactivating archives and finding clever ways to extract value from existing material.
Incremental revenue also comes through:
These are small streams individually but powerful collectively. The new era isn’t just about giant rights deals; it’s about dozens of monetisation touchpoints that together drive growth.
European broadcasting’s next evolution also includes new forms of capture: some ambitious, some still experimental. Concepts like ref-cams, spider cams or position-based VR viewing are no longer confined to tech expos. They are live. They are being trialled. Some, like referee cameras, are already making their way into mainstream highlights and replays.
While we will see further proof of concepts and experimentation in 2026, we hope to see more realism with fewer ideas that are fantasy or gimmicky, akin to the era of 3D glasses, which while memorable are not sustainable.
The evolution here will be more pragmatic innovation. Broadcasters accept that not every idea will succeed but the ones that do will be the defining features of the next decade.
The emergence of short-form content does not eliminate traditional highlights. Older generations still prefer an 8-10-minute linear recap. What is changing is the introduction of multiple highlight formats across long, medium, micro, vertical and personalised versions.
The highlight is no longer a single item, but a family of products shaped around audience preference. Broadcasters evolve by personalising their outputs, allowing every fan to receive the version of the game they want.
All these developments across technology, commercials and generations merge into a defining shift.
In 2026 we see experimentation continuing but believe the industry will begin to evolve with intention, guided by audience behaviour, grounded in economic reality and enabled by technologies that are finally mature enough to depend on. We see the year ahead as a defining moment in the maturity of approach and an acceptance of the future changes that lay ahead.
Article originally published 7 Jan, 2026 on SVG Europe.