Beyond the live match: How to scale and squeeze more value from every sports event
Sports coverage is shifting. That much was clear from my conversations with rights holders, broadcasters and leagues at both IBC and SportsPro AI + Tech over the past few months.
At Media Distillery, we have been talking for some time about the opportunity to take sports coverage beyond the live event with more video summaries of match highlights, discrete video clips of individual key moments, better surfacing of shoulder content like interviews and analysis around the match, greater use of chaptering to make long-form content more navigable, and the creation of short-form and vertical experiences designed for different viewing habits and devices.
What feels different right now is the level of interest. Rights holders and broadcasters increasingly see the opportunity here, now they’re grappling with how to achieve it at scale.
Different fans want different viewing experiences
Fans do not all arrive with the same intent.
Some will watch the full event live. Others arrive later with five minutes to spare. Some already know the result and want to jump straight to the goals or other decisive moments. Others are interested in the build-up, a particular player or team, the post-game analysis, or simply want a quick taste before deciding whether to watch more.
That flexibility matters because video is already proven as a highly effective route to convert browsers into engaged viewers.
Liberty Global, for example, has deployed video previews across different types of programming for a number of operators using its Horizon platform. At IBC, Chris van der Linden, Director Entertainment Products, described the results they are seeing: “Content conversion is just better. NPS is better for the products. The conversion on video highlights is really better than expected. Customers watch the actual content after seeing the clip more than they used to when they were simply seeing an image or synopsis describing the program.”
Chris was talking about video previews for general entertainment rather than sport, but the principle is relevant. A committed fan probably does not need a clip to persuade them to watch their own team. But video can still tempt viewers into spending more time with another team, competition or sport they might not otherwise have chosen. And I’d argue that some particularly viral moments might even convert viewers who don’t typically follow sports at all.
Different fans want different viewing experiences
Fans do not all arrive with the same intent.
Some will watch the full event live. Others arrive later with five minutes to spare. Some already know the result and want to jump straight to the goals or other decisive moments. Others are interested in the build-up, a particular player or team, the post-game analysis, or simply want a quick taste before deciding whether to watch more.
That flexibility matters because video is already proven as a highly effective route to convert browsers into engaged viewers.
Liberty Global, for example, has deployed video previews across different types of programming for a number of operators using its Horizon platform. At IBC, Chris van der Linden, Director Entertainment Products, described the results they are seeing: “Content conversion is just better. NPS is better for the products. The conversion on video highlights is really better than expected. Customers watch the actual content after seeing the clip more than they used to when they were simply seeing an image or synopsis describing the program.”
Chris was talking about video previews for general entertainment rather than sport, but the principle is relevant. A committed fan probably does not need a clip to persuade them to watch their own team. But video can still tempt viewers into spending more time with another team, competition or sport they might not otherwise have chosen. And I’d argue that some particularly viral moments might even convert viewers who don’t typically follow sports at all.
Short-form sport is becoming a viewing experience in its own right
But it’s not just about driving views of longer form content. We’ve been talking for some time about the growing power of short-form viewing. Every live game that can be turned into a highlights package can also exist as a series of individual clips: the first goal, a major chance, a VAR decision, a red card, another goal.
The viewer can then swipe from one moment to the next in a format much closer to the way people already consume content through Instagram Stories and other short-form video experiences. This may be something they do on the broadcaster’s own platform, or on a third-party social media network.
At IBC this year, the level of interest in this kind of experience had clearly moved forward. Streamers and broadcasters know short form clips work naturally on mobile, appeal to younger audiences and reduce the commitment needed to start watching.
Our work with Personal during the 2026 World Cup gave strong evidence that shorter form viewing can be its own form of entertainment for sports fans. As Marina Magariños, Head of Product UX for Personal told us: “Our clients loved the World Cup highlights. They used it a lot. We even had people who watched the same highlight reel four or five times.”
Those viewers were not repeatedly watching because they needed to check the score again or decide whether to watch the full replay. They simply enjoyed the content. Clips can generate additional views - and value for consumers - in their own right.
New formats create new revenue opportunities, if you can produce them efficiently
Breaking sports coverage into smaller, discrete moments also creates new monetisation options. A sequence of short clips creates natural points where advertising can be inserted between moments. A viewer might swipe through a goal, a major chance and a VAR decision, see an ad, and then continue.
But the commercials only stack up if the content can be produced quickly and at a cost that does not wipe out the extra revenue. Speed matters too. A goal or key moment loses value if it takes hours to become available, particularly for fans catching up after missing a live event. This is often where Media Distillery gets a call.
That 2026 World Cup project with Personal saw our technology generate automated video highlights for all 104 matches within minutes of the final whistle and identify clips and metadata for Tendencias (trending topics). This surfaced shoulder content from across their tournament coverage. Doing that manually would have been time- and cost-prohibitive for the Personal team.
The project was successful enough that the relationship has continued beyond the World Cup. We are now also creating automated highlights for Argentina’s Liga Profesional de Fútbol.
Automation does not mean removing editorial judgement
Of course, AI can be divisive. Some organisations are comfortable automating a high proportion of their sports content. Others want editorial review around flagship events or specific outputs.
We have architected our solutions to support both approaches. The aim is to automate repetitive work where it makes sense, while allowing editorial teams to focus their judgement and creativity where it adds the most value.
Considering automating your sports content creation at scale?
If you’re exploring how automated highlights, key moments, chaptering or short-form video could work for your sports content, come and talk to us.
Media Distillery will be at SPORTEL Monaco, 19–21 October, and the SportsPro Media Summit in Madrid, 2–3 December. We’d be happy to show you a demo, discuss your use case at either event, or set up an online meeting.
