The Business of Watching: How Broadcast Deals Power Modern Sport

For much of sport’s history, revenue followed attendance. Bigger crowds meant stronger matchdays, healthier clubs, and more stable competitions. That logic still exists, but it no longer defines how most major sports are financed.

Today, the financial centre of sport sits away from the stadium and firmly on the screen. Broadcast deals account for the largest and most predictable share of revenue across franchise leagues, traditional club competitions, and global tournaments. In many cases, they underwrite the entire ecosystem before a ticket is sold or a sponsor is signed.

This shift has reshaped how sport is organised and valued. Franchise leagues such as the IPL are built around guaranteed broadcast income and consistent inventory. Traditional club competitions like the Premier League, while structurally different, now derive the majority of their revenue from media rights — particularly overseas deals that far outweigh matchday earnings. At the international level, tournaments run by bodies such as the ICC rely on broadcast-driven spikes in global attention rather than regular attendance.

Across formats and geographies, the same reality applies: sport is increasingly priced, planned, and prioritised for viewers rather than spectators. The growing importance of broadcast revenue is not simply about larger cheques. It reflects how media rights are structured, sold, and negotiated across modern sport.

Before looking at how this plays out across flagship leagues and tournaments, it is worth stepping back to unpack — at a broad level — how broadcast deals are agreed, what broadcasters are really buying, and why different competitions command very different terms.

How Broadcast Deals Are Agreed

A broadcast deal is an agreement between a rights holder — a league, governing body, or tournament organiser — and a broadcaster for the right to show content over a set period. While the scale and complexity differ across sports, most deals follow a similar structure.

The process begins with how rights are packaged. Rights holders decide what they are selling and how it is divided: domestic versus international rights, television versus digital streaming, live matches versus highlights, and exclusive versus shared access.

• Franchise leagues, such as cricket leagues, package large volumes of live matches to offer broadcasters predictability and consistent inventory.

• International tournaments, like cricket World Cups or football continental championships, bundle competitions into multi-year cycles or defined tournament windows, selling scarcity, prestige, and global reach.

• Traditional club competitions, including the Premier League, split rights into multiple packages domestically while selling international rights territory by territory to maximise value.

• American leagues, such as the NBA, combine linear TV, streaming, and social media rights into multi-platform packages, prioritising both domestic subscription growth and global audience reach.

Once packaged, rights are usually sold through a competitive bidding process. Broadcasters assess bids based on:

• Expected audience size and engagement

• Advertising and sponsorship opportunities

• Subscription growth potential

• Strategic fit within their broader platform

Valuation is determined by attention rather than attendance. Regular league seasons provide habit-forming viewership, while short tournaments or marquee events create spikes in national or global interest. Emerging leagues, including many women’s competitions, may accept lower initial fees in exchange for exposure and long-term growth.

Most deals run across multi-year cycles, offering financial certainty to rights holders and allowing broadcasters to plan schedules, production, and marketing investments. Broadcast agreements increasingly influence the sport itself, including:

• Kick-off times and calendar scheduling

• Tournament formats

• Presentation, production, and coverage standards

Sub-licensing and secondary distribution:

• The primary broadcaster often sub-licenses parts of its package to other platforms or regional networks.

• Sub-licensed rights can include:

  • Regional or local broadcast rights in specific territories or languages

  • Secondary platforms such as streaming apps, social media highlights, or mobile networks

  • Special formats like highlights, condensed games, or delayed telecasts

• Examples:

  • In cricket, a broadcaster holding IPL rights may partner with other channels or digital platforms to reach specific regions or languages.

  • For the Premier League, primary rights holders such as Sky Sports may license highlights or digital clips to regional partners, while full live rights in overseas markets are sold separately to local broadcasters such as Star Sports in India.

  • In India, FanCode currently holds the digital rights to Formula 1 and broadcasts the international Sky Sports feed to local audiences, illustrating how global rights are adapted for regional distribution.

Why sub-licensing matters:

• Maximises revenue for both the primary broadcaster and the rights holder

• Expands viewership without reducing the value of the main package

• Explains why different platforms often show the same event simultaneously in different formats

Understanding how broadcast deals are structured and negotiated provides the framework for looking at how different leagues and tournaments approach media rights. Let’s now look at how different competitions — franchise leagues, club competitions like the Premier League, international tournaments, and American leagues like the NBA — apply these principles in practice.

Franchise Cricket Leagues

Franchise cricket leagues are structured to prioritise broadcast revenue, focusing on regular schedules, predictable content, and consistent audience engagement. These competitions are designed with media partners in mind, ensuring broadcasters can plan campaigns, production, and coverage around a reliable flow of matches.

Key characteristics of franchise cricket leagues include:

• Volume and frequency: Multiple matches scheduled across the season provide broadcasters with a steady stream of live content, keeping audiences engaged.

• Prime-time scheduling: Games are often timed to maximise viewership and advertising exposure.

• Multi-platform distribution: Television, digital streaming, highlights, and social media content are packaged to expand reach and engagement.

• Predictable advertising opportunities: Regular fixtures allow broadcasters and sponsors to plan campaigns with certainty.

• Star power and storylines: Teams and marquee players enhance both the commercial and entertainment value of broadcasts.

These leagues demonstrate how cricket can be structured around the needs of broadcasters, with stadium attendance playing a secondary role to scalable and predictable viewership. Franchise cricket leagues illustrate why media rights are increasingly central to the business model of modern sport.

In 2022, the IPL sold its global media rights to Viacom18 for ₹48,390 crore (~$6 billion) over five years (2023–2027). The deal covers television and digital streaming rights, illustrating the massive scale and predictability of franchise league broadcasting.

Club Football Competitions

Club football competitions operate on a season-long schedule with traditional club ownership, but broadcast revenue has become central to their business model. While matchday attendance remains important, television and digital rights now account for the majority of income, shaping both the structure and scheduling of leagues worldwide.

The Premier League is the biggest and most lucrative club football competition globally, but similar principles apply to other top leagues such as La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.

Key characteristics of club football broadcast deals include:

• Market-by-market packaging: Domestic rights are often split into multiple packages to maintain competition among broadcasters, while international rights are sold by territory to maximise global revenue.

• Premium valuation per match: Top leagues command high fees from broadcasters due to global followings, high-profile clubs, and star players.

• Scheduling rules and blackout periods: For example, in the UK, the Saturday 3pm blackout prevents live domestic broadcasts during that window to protect stadium attendance and maintain premium value for other slots.

• Rescheduling for TV schedules: Important weekend matches are often moved to other days or times on a monthly basis to fit broadcasters’ preferred slots and maximise viewership.

• Multi-platform distribution: Rights include live TV, digital streaming, highlights, and on-demand content to reach audiences across platforms.

• Predictable commercial cycles: Sponsors and broadcasters can plan campaigns in advance based on the regularity of fixtures.

Club football competitions show how leagues balance broadcast priorities with stadium attendance. Rules like blackout periods and the strategic rescheduling of key matches illustrate that broadcast deals influence not just revenue, but also when and how the sport is presented, allowing leagues to maximise both commercial value and global viewership.

The Premier League’s latest domestic broadcast rights deal, running from the 2025–26 season to 2028–29, is valued at approximately £6.7 billion, making it the most valuable domestic league broadcast agreement in football history. UK rights are held by Sky Sports and TNT Sports, while international broadcast rights are sold regionally across global markets, continuing to drive the league’s position as the richest and most commercially powerful club competition in world football.

American Sports Leagues

American professional sports leagues, such as the NBA and NFL, operate under franchise-based models but with unique broadcast structures that have shaped the global sports business. Broadcast revenue forms a core part of their finances, often surpassing ticketing income, and influences scheduling, marketing, and even rule considerations.

Key characteristics of American sports league broadcast deals include:

• National and local packaging: Rights are sold both nationally and regionally. National packages cover all viewers across the country, while local packages give regional broadcasters access to specific teams’ games.

• Multi-platform distribution: Deals often combine television, streaming, and digital platforms to maximise reach. For example, the NBA streams games on cable, broadcast networks, and platforms like NBA League Pass.

• Fixed scheduling with flexible windows: The NFL schedules games to maximise prime-time viewership (Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football), while the NBA adjusts marquee games to feature in high-profile time slots.

• Revenue sharing and franchise parity: National broadcast deals are shared among teams, helping maintain competitive balance across franchises.

• Premium valuation per event: Playoffs, finals, and marquee matchups command significantly higher broadcast fees than regular season games due to high attention and advertising potential.

American leagues illustrate a model where broadcast revenue drives league structure and scheduling, with franchises benefiting from both national and local exposure. Compared with club football or franchise cricket leagues, these leagues demonstrate how media rights can shape not only revenue streams but also competitive balance, game timing, and global expansion strategies.

NBA: The league’s latest media rights agreement, running from the 2025–26 season through 2035–36, is valued at approximately $76 billion over 11 years. The deal includes ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, marking a major shift toward a mixed broadcast and streaming distribution model.

NFL: The league’s 11-year television deal with CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN/ABC, running through 2033, is estimated at $113 billion, covering national broadcasts, playoffs, and the Super Bowl.

International Tournaments

International tournaments, whether in cricket, football, or other sports, generally follow similar broadcast principles. Unlike league competitions, which rely on regular schedules and consistent content, these tournaments are event-driven. Broadcast revenue is generated through concentrated periods of high attention, often tied to marquee matches or finals.

Key characteristics of international tournaments include:

• Event-based scheduling: A limited number of matches within a defined window, creating peaks in viewership.

• Global reach: Rights are often sold separately in different regions to maximise revenue.

• High valuation per match: Scarcity and significance of each game drive premium pricing.

• National and cultural significance: Fan engagement is heightened by national representation or major stakes.

• Predictable commercial cycles: Sponsors and broadcasters plan campaigns around the tournament timeline rather than a season-long schedule.

For the current ICC media rights cycle (2024–2027), the Indian media rights for ICC events — including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 — were sold in a major deal to JioStar (a merged entity of Viacom18’s JioCinema and Star India) for about $3.0 billion for television and digital rights in the Indian market.

For major football, broadcast rights for events like the FIFA World Cup 2026 are being sold globally, with broadcasters like Deutsche Telekom securing rights for significant territories and others bidding to carry coverage free-to-air or via OTT platforms.

Tennis: Grand Slam Broadcasts

Tennis is largely event-driven, with Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon, the US Open, Australian Open, and French Open — attracting massive global audiences. Media rights are sold for live coverage, highlights, and digital streaming.

• Event-based model: Limited matches over a few weeks create concentrated global viewership.

• Global distribution: Rights sold by region to maximise revenue.

• Premium valuation: Finals and marquee matchups command higher fees.

• Major broadcasters: ESPN, Eurosport, and regional networks.

• Example deal: Wimbledon’s domestic rights in the UK are held by BBC and Eurosport, valued at approximately £75 million per year, with international deals bringing total annual rights to over $250 million.

Formula 1: Motorsport Broadcasts

Formula 1 operates a global, travel-heavy broadcast model, with media rights and sponsorship driving much of its revenue.

• Global schedule: Races across multiple countries require international broadcast partnerships.

• Event-driven pricing: Grand Prix weekends attract premium rates, particularly for high-profile races like Monaco or British GP.

• Multi-platform coverage: Live TV, streaming, highlights, and digital extras.

• Major broadcasters: Sky Sports, ESPN, F1 TV Pro, and regional networks.

• Example deal: Formula 1 signed a $500 million deal with Sky Sports in the UK (2023–2030) for live coverage and streaming rights.

Women’s Sports

Women’s professional sports are increasingly commanding significant media attention, with leagues and tournaments being valued for both broadcast and sponsorship potential.

• Examples: WNBA (basketball), Women’s Super League (football), ICC Women’s World Cup and T20 tournaments.

• Growing broadcast rights: Deals often combine TV, digital streaming, and highlights packages.

• Global exposure: Leagues and tournaments partner with major broadcasters to expand audiences.

• Example deals:

  • WNBA: The WNBA signed a new 11-year media rights agreement covering 2026–2036 with partners including Disney (ABC/ESPN), Amazon Prime Video, and NBCUniversal (USA Network/Peacock), valued at approximately $2.2 billion — about $200 million per year on average.

  • ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup: Star Sports acquired broadcast rights for approximately $50–60 million(2017–2022 cycle).The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 will be broadcast globally through official rights holders in each territory, including JioStar/Star Sports in India and icc.tv streaming internationally.While a consolidated global broadcast valuation for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 has not been publicly disclosed, the tournament has seen a sharp rise in commercial interest, with sponsorship values reportedly increasing by up to 50 percent and broader multi-platform broadcast coverage secured across key markets.

  • Women’s Super League: The WSL agreed a record five-year domestic broadcast deal with Sky Sports and the BBC starting from the 2025–26 season, valued at approximately £65 million. Sky Sports will show the majority of live matches each season, with the BBC retaining a smaller free-to-air package, reflecting the growing commercial value of elite women’s football in the UK.

Across sports and geographies, broadcast deals have become the cornerstone of modern sport, often surpassing ticketing and traditional revenue streams. Franchise cricket leagues prioritise regular, high-volume content; club football balances domestic attendance with global broadcast exposure; international tournaments capitalise on short, high-value events; American leagues like the NBA and NFL optimise national and regional packages; while tennis, Formula 1, and women’s sports demonstrate that even niche or emerging competitions can thrive through media rights.

While the structure, scale, and timing differ, the underlying principle is the same: media rights drive scheduling, revenue, fan engagement, and even competitive formats. As leagues and tournaments continue to expand their global reach, understanding broadcast deals — from packaging and bidding to sub-licensing and strategic rescheduling — is essential to grasping the business of sport today