Streamers are forecast to account for a fifth of global sports rights spend in 2025 according to Ampere Analysis sports media rights data.
It’s anticipated that the combined spend will reach $12.5 billion this year with much of the growth driven by the expanding sports budgets of Netflix and Amazon. However, sports streamer DAZN will maintain its position as the world’s top spender on sports rights.
DAZN will account for one third of streaming spend on sports in 2025 following its $1 billion deal for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The figure is expected to rise further once the acquisition of Foxtel in Australia is complete.
“Over the last five years, streamers’ share of investment in sports rights has increased for two main reasons,” said Danni Moore, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis. “In particular, DAZN has driven investment in top tier sports rights in major European markets such as Germany, Italy, Spain and most recently France. Then, as streaming nears saturation point, general entertainment platforms are adjusting their content investment strategies and have turned to sports as a key part of their subscription growth plans. They are recognising the benefit of acquiring rights to major season-long competitions for both subscriber acquisition and retention.”
Amazon is the second top streaming spender. Its share will increase from 18% to 23% following its acquisition of NBA rights from the 2025-26 season onwards. Other major rights held by Amazon include NFL Thursday Night Football and UEFA Champions League, though these vary by territory.
TV remains in third place, due to its single sports rights deal for the NFL Sunday Ticket worth a reported $2 billion per season.
Netflix is now the fourth biggest streaming investor in sports rights thanks to its three- year agreement to show Christmas Day NFL games and its $500million per year deal with WWE which started in 2025.
