Will the sports streaming shift hurt sponsorship value and visibility?

In 2025, streaming platforms continue to shape how sponsors are being reached. According to Ampere Analysis, streamers will account for 20% of global sports rights spending this year at around $12.5 billion, up from 18% in 2024. DAZN alone will drive roughly one‑third of that, buoyed by its €1 billion acquisition of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup rights, while Amazon expands its footprint through NBA and NFL deals. The question remains: what does this forthcoming era of streaming mean for sponsorship value?

Historically, shirt and pitch sponsors in the highest-profile tournaments like the Premier League relied on mainstream broadcast reach (think BBC, Sky Sports, or ESPN highlights). Today, Ampere estimates that 30% of top‑tier matches in Europe are exclusively available via streaming, making exposure more dispersed and harder to measure. Unlike traditional broadcasters, streamers tend not to disclose granular viewership data, so figures can become hazy and unreliable. Nielsen’s 2025 Global Sports Report also observes a 21% rise in fans aged 50+ turning to streaming over two years, which raises questions about uniform sponsor visibility across demographics.