IMG: seven digital trends that will shape sport rights (& sponsorship) in 2025

Featuring insights and analysis from IMG’s global team of digital experts, this year’s predictions cover a wide array of intriguing trends including the following:

The distinction between the ‘first’ and ‘second’ screen is breaking down: By any measure, says IMG, sports are more popular now than ever. “Networks and streaming services are paying increasing fees for access to the world's best events, and nearly 24 million people in the UK watched England's Euro 2024 final defeat.” Yet, while sports dominates the big screen, mobile phones increasingly dominate audience attention. As such, IMG predicts that “2025 will see sports abandon the notion of ‘first screen’ and ‘second screen’ and put more emphasis into winning the battle for both screens – at the same time.” While the primary job is to make viewers engage with the live product, “an equally important task is convincing viewers to interact with or around the live even as it is happening on their primary device.” A key takeaway for sponsors is that creating multiple touch points with viewers is now “non-negotiable”.

Phones may reign, but 2025 will trigger the true age of wearables: Snap, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple are increasing their investment in tech that attempts to integrate seamlessly into our lives and onto our bodies, says IMG. While wearables have not yet displaced the smartphone, “2025 will be the year when wearable tech finally starts to compete with the phone for our attention,” says IMG. “With the glance of an eye, users could soon find themselves connected to music, their fitness stats, or the Internet. Screentime may reduce on your smartphone, but your digital connection could now become permanent. Wearables are for real, and sports need to prepare for a world of potentially infinite user data and distraction.” A key takeaway for rights holders and sponsors is that they must have a plan for wearables (eg. smart glasses), says IMG, preparing for the benefits (influx of data about customers) and the dangers (users easily distracted away from the product rights holders are providing).

AI: Personalisation not personalities: It’s been two years since generative artificial intelligence (AI) came to mainstream prominence with the launch of ChatGPT. In 2024, says IMG, “we saw a mixture of high-profile successes regarding fan-facing generative AI activations, including Peacock’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics, as well as some expensive failed experiments across various industries”. With experience, rights holders and sponsors are starting to see what fans and viewers want from AI. “Meta’s attempt to replicate one-to-one fan interactions at scale through AI celebrity chatbots demonstrated there is minimal appetite to engage with artificially created characters or celebrity interactions. Fans want personalisation, not personalities.” Much like opening a social media app, says IMG, the next era of viewership for sports fans will see broadcasters inherently understand audience preferences and serve them direct and individually. The key takeaway for sponsors is that they too will have to evolve towards more personalised engagement to stay relevant to audiences.

Sports-themed websites at existential tipping point: According to IMG, 2025 will mark “the abrupt end to the traditional method of searching for topics and visiting websites with relevant editorial content”. Internet users will already have an idea what this means – with AI-powered search now delivering much of the information they used to get from websites. “The new world order will see AI summarise results in just a few seconds,” says IMG. “In a world of précis, your website needs to become the ultimate source of truth, not just a generator of unclicked results in a search query. The worth of a website transforms to becoming the tip of the sword for an organisation’s branding. It must create a unique experience for fans with clear interaction points. The ‘why’ behind your website must shift.” While this is critical for rights holders, it also has implications for sponsors looking to amplify their partnerships. Much more emphasis will be placed on the distribution of content across multiple online outlets, making SEO an increasingly important skillset.

Topline numbers are not enough: One fundamental way the internet has changed the world is to make abundance normal, says IMG. A brand can reach scale – of audience, video views, app downloads – for low marginal cost, and an end user can access all the media in existence. This abundance means sports clubs and leagues can cite big numbers around their content or fan services, as fan passion generates sizeable impressions, views and engagements. In this context, rights holders and sponsors will need to cast a critical eye over the value and real-world meaning of such big numbers, working to pair them with metrics which represent true community engagement. “A trend we observe at sports clubs and leagues is one where short-term conversion needs take precedence over long-term community-building. In 2025, we see that behaviour starting to turn, with focus on short term numbers being disrupted by emphasis on building sustainable communities.” This is a welcome trend for sponsors, which will be able to forge richer relationships with sports fans.

Right holder DTC strategies pivot from non-premium content to utility and gamification: Many sports organisations have tried to build a direct-to-consumer value proposition in recent years. The problem is that this is usually underpinned by their least valuable content, with premium rights reserved for third party licensing deals. In 2025, IMG expects “a marked shift in the way sports address the D2C opportunity. Instead of launching standalone offerings where the value proposition is non-premium content, they will pivot towards creating new value propositions based on participation, gamification and rewards”. IMG cites the example of Strava, which offers “runners, walkers and riders a way to measure their activity alongside gamification elements like badges and leaderboards to keep them coming back.” In a move that may also have implications for sponsors, IMG expects sports to consider different types of content: “These may include training aids, diet plans, mental wellness or coaching expertise. The key is that this content will be premium, and not the remnants of what could not be licensed to third parties.” Once again, it’s not a stretch to see opportunities for sponsors to link to this kind of enhanced fan interaction.

Sports monetise short-form and non-live content: In recent years, says IMG, sports organisations have seen outsized performance growth from their vertical video and short-form content output. “Leagues, teams and athletes have been reporting continued follower and consumption growth from the emergence of platforms like TikTok and formats like YouTube’s Shorts and Instagram’s Reels”. However, they haven’t yet seen a significant commercial return. That will change in 2025, says IMG. “As with other media in the past, revenue models have lagged consumer attention but next year, sports will start to monetise their short-form and non-live rights in a meaningful way. We anticipate that platforms will offer better monetisation terms to creators, bringing short-form more in line with long-form. More savvy rights holders will build short-form packages into brand partnership agreements, using platforms like Greenfly and WSC.” For sponsors, this increased focus on short-form and non-live, will make it more important than ever to have a coherent digital-first sports strategy.

IMG’s report, now in its seventh year, also ranked the 12 most important third-party social media platforms for the global sports industry. The platforms are ranked based on analysis of audience profile and growth, commercial potential, and the functionality they offer rights holders and users. This year’s edition crowned YouTube as the priority platform for the sports industry due to its ability to reach, engage and monetise audiences, followed by Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Reddit (6^th) was the year’s biggest riser, as fans are increasingly drawn towards community-focused platforms.

IMG’s SVP & managing director of digital, Lewis Wiltshire commented: “2024 has seen a clear advancement in direct-to-consumer strategy and a widespread industry shift towards community-focused platforms, among other trends. This is reflected in our platform power ranking, which has seen notable changes to the top 10, as opportunities for rights holders and dynamics among digital channels evolve.”

The UK Sponsorship Awards is the leading awards event for sports-themed Sponsorship, with numerous categories for brands and rights holders. For companies interested in entering the 2025 edition, follow this link for more details.