New York – At Operative’s GameOn event Thursday, leaders from different parts of the sports media ecosystem came together to share insights on the evolving nature of distribution, monetization and fan engagement.
A panel session that this reporter moderated focused on changes in distribution and consumption of sports content and engaging fans. Because as the cost of sports rights has continued to climb, deepening and extending the fandom that is somewhat unique to sports is a key factor in helping to monetize and make the most out of tentpole sports content, while giving bands new opportunities to show up before, during and after the game.
Executives on stage sharing perspective included David Fogel, executive director and general counsel of the NBA Coaches Association; Doug Jossem, EVP of Global Sports and Entertainment Partnerships for MSG Entertainment; and Wade Nielsen, VP of Digital Sales, Strategy and Partnerships at FanDuel.
In terms of rising costs for sports rights, a recent Activate Consulting report shows how valuations across sports league media rights deals have increased in the U.S. versus prior agreements.
As for GameOn, here are some takeaways and tidbits from the panel:
- Converged distribution means meeting fans where they are and providing expanded access.
With sports rights, teams and games have splintered across platforms and services, with various availability across pay TV, major SVODs and DTC apps from programmers, as well standalone team and league app offerings.
In the case of FanDuel Sports Network, which offers a paid DTC apps with local game coverage for major sports leagues, Nielsen emphasized it’s about meeting consumers where they are and getting them to consume the sports content wherever that may be.
In an effort to expand access to local sports, FDSN recently made the move to air select live NBA and NHL games for free on ad-supported services including Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV and Amazon’s Prime Video, with more platforms and services expected to be announced. The games will be available in front of a paywall in prominent areas like sports zones, carousels and featured tiles during live-game windows.
And while Nielsen noted that the aim is to expand access, it’s also a mechanism for the paid app, where fans can get a free taste of the sports and content offered on FDSN and then migrate to the DTC app. In the announcement, FDSN noted early data it said highlighted success of converting paying subscribers through integrated prompts, graphics and exclusive content offerings.
Jossem, meanwhile, has a focus on filling a 20,000-seat stadium and delivering a memorable local fan experience at Madison Square Garden each game for his teams of the Knicks and Rangers. But when fans are engaging digitally, he emphasized a desire for that viewing to happen on MSG’s own apps – including Gotham Sports. The Gotham Sports app debuted in August 2024 and it brings together the MSG+ offering from MSG Networks and YES app from YES Network, providing a DTC option for local fans of professional NBA, NHL and MLB teams.
On the consumption front, as sports become more global, Fogel noted that content is king and fans will find their way to sports programming. And as sports become more global that might not mean watching full games, but he pointed to engagement with short-form content like highlights and clips, where storylines are being consumed digitally and helping to drive full-season narratives.
- Leaning into shoulder content, media partners, and coach personalities to extend fan engagement beyond the game clock
Enabling more access for fans doesn’t just mean more places to watch the game. It also means more access to NBA coaches and on-court insights.
Fogel shared how NBA coaches are learning to become so-called CEOs of basketball and leaning into engagement with TV broadcasts and local RSNs. NBA coaches are now allowing things like sideline reporters during game action and on-camera interviews and talk segments to provide more in-depth knowledge and breakdowns of plays – things that back in the day pro basketball coaches might not have been on board for but that’s now evolving and avid fans appear eager for it.
And for the NBA in particular, it just began the first season of 11-year media rights agreements with Disney’s ABC and ESPN, NBCUniversal and Peacock, and Amazon’s Prime Video.
The NBA is leaning into its media partners and vice versa, including a sports storytelling emphasis on NBC, pre- and post-game shows with Amazon and a daily suite of ESPN talk shows.
In addition to coaches, media partnerships are also bringing fans more access around game time, as Fogel noted aspects like content around walk-ins from players and fashion as they get off team buses, among others.
FanDuel Sports Network too is extending engagement past the court, including through shoulder content.
Nielsen noted Countdown Live, a new video podcast show that he said is showing fan growth. The hour-long pre-game show airs weekdays on the network and uses a “whip-around” format to look at key games across the FDSN portfolio.
- Tech is opening up new fan experiences and ad inventory opportunities
Digital access and technology are also providing ways to boost the fan experience while giving brands a way to creatively integrate into broadcasts and be involved in the game at different points without detracting from the action itself.
Nielsen touched on work FanDuel’s doing, like event-triggered ad executions (say when there’s a charging foul called), where it can introduce a squeeze-back or L-bar and serve an appropriate ad integration alongside the game content.
He also noted an example with MLB and wire cam or active mic fan features that can be sponsored by a brand and augments the live game. In addition, there are data-driven features like statistical overlays and stats next to a game that can also have ad treatment – creating net-new inventory opportunities for premium sports content that beyond standard ad pods.
- Fandom at the heart of sports, local is key
Fandom is certainly at the heart of sports.
And for Jossem, local fans are at the heart of in-person games, which means creating an experience that keeps them coming back, or possibly converting a one-time visit casual fan into a super fan that’s ready to engage with the sport through other channels.
Brands play a big part in the MSG experience, he noted, but suggested long gone are the days of a simple logo slap, and anticipates new types of activations and integrations that connect brands to fans and help push consumers a little further down the funnel than the upper brand awareness building that in-venue sponsorships are well-known for, while also helping to prove out investments.
FanDuel too, as a holder of local sports rights, knows the power of local sports fans. Nielsen shared that on average, fans watch 10-11 local games per month versus 2-3 national games.
- Sports content may be splintered but fans are a mainstay
An overarching takeaway was that cord-cutting and related changes in distribution and consumption will continue – but as the sports media ecosystem redefines itself to try and meet consumers where they are, fans will continue to show up and tune in, albeit in potentially different ways and places.
Just to put some figures to the staying power of sports fandom in the U.S., per Activate’s report, the percentage and number of U.S. adults defined as sports fans continues to grow even in the face of a changing media ecosystem and consumer behaviors.
As of 2025 there were 195 million adult U.S. sports fans, accounting for 74% of the population. That’s grown each of the past four years and is an increase from the 168 million U.S. sports fans (or 65% of the population) in 2022.