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EMARKETER

US Sports Streaming 2025

Linear TV’s Grip on Live Sports Loosens

Report by Ross Benes  |  Nov 20, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Live sports is still a linear TV ball game
Sports rights undergo digital transformation
Recommendations for advertisers
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Live sports is drifting from linear TV to fragmented streaming. That’s raising costs, confusing viewers, and forcing leagues and advertisers to navigate new tradeoffs between reach, revenues, and shifting time spent.
Topics
Digital Video
TV Advertising
Media Consumption
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Live sports is still a linear TV ball game
Sports rights undergo digital transformation
Recommendations for advertisers
Sources
Media Gallery

Live sports is shifting from unified TV viewing to being scattered among streaming services. Rising rights fees and fragmented access are creating tension between maximizing revenues and maintaining a broad reach, reshaping strategies for both leagues and ad buyers.

Key Question: How is live sports viewership changing?

Key Stat: From 2023 to 2025, digital’s share of US time spent with live sports increased from about one-fourth to one-third, according to Inscape.

Digital Reaches Most Viewers but Accounts for Just Over One-Third of Live Sports Viewing Time
E-Mail ChartDownload

Clients can find the full version of this chart later in the report.

Here’s what’s in the full report

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Live sports is still a linear TV ball game
  1. Sports rights undergo digital transformation
  2. Recommendations for advertisers
  1. Sources
  2. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Digital Reaches Most Viewers but Accounts for Just Over One-Third of Live Sports Viewing TimeDigital Reaches Most Viewers but Accounts for Just Over One-Third of Live Sports Viewing Time
Streaming Accounts for Just Over One-Tenth of Time Spent Watching SportsFootball Drives Up Live Sports TV Ad Spending in Q4
Elevated TV Ratings Led Us to Raise Our Women's Sports Viewers ForecastSports Rights Are Getting Spread Across Streaming Services in a Complicated Way
Accessing Live Sports Has Become More Confusing Due to the Shift to Multiple Streaming Services

authors

Ross Benes

Contributors

Paul Briggs
Principal Analyst
Rahul Chadha
Director, Report Editing
Chuck Rawlings
Senior Researcher
Sakina Thanawala
Copy Editor
Matt Torpey
Senior Chart Editor
Emman Velasco
Chart Editor
Yoram Wurmser
Principal Analyst
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