Sports Streaming Is Changing - How Digital-First Leagues Are Reimagining Sports for a New Generation

As younger audiences shift away from traditional broadcasting to digital and on-demand platforms, legacy sports leagues are struggling to adapt their league and broadcasting model. Attempts to modernize through exclusive streaming deals have often backfired, alienating fans and delivering disappointing results.

Sports Streaming Deals Under Pressure

Sports leagues are shifting from traditional broadcasting to exclusive streaming deals, but many find the transition more complex than anticipated. While the benefits are clear; greater control, digital reach, and new revenue streams. Recent cases show how easily these moves can backfire, risking fan loyalty, accessibility, and long-term growth.

Several recent partnerships highlight the challenges leagues face in transitioning to streaming.

ESPN withdraws from MLB deal

In the US, ESPN opted out of its $550 million per year deal with Major League Baseball (MLB), citing underperformance. Sportico noted the league “wasn’t pulling its weight.” And as MLB looks for new distribution partners, “it’ll be no easy feat to get one of the tech titans to match the amount of cash that ESPN decided to withhold.”

The Apple-MLS deal is bad for fans

Major League Soccer (MLS) signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion exclusive global streaming deal with Apple TV+. However, early feedback suggests the deal may misalign with fan behavior. In a 2025 Athletic survey of MLS executives, one General Manager stated, “They have to end the deal with Apple. It’s bad for the fans.” Many GMs indicated the service is a barrier for new fans, highlighting not just pricing but discoverability and accessibility of the growing league. In a Forbes article, Ian Nicholas Quillen criticized Apple’s approach: “The collective nature of live sports TV is a very different one than siloed individual experiences that Apple has specialized in... That’s why so much of this early new era of MLS has felt so clumsy, so ill-fitting and so unoriginal.”

NFL fragmentation

Even the NFL, the wealthiest and most powerful sports league in the U.S., hasn’t been immune to fan frustration. Its exclusive streaming deal with Amazon Prime Video for “Thursday Night Football” has drawn criticism over yet another platform to subscribe to. Similar backlash was shared about airing a 2024 playoff game (Chiefs vs. Dolphins) exclusively on Peacock. In 2023, MarketWatch calculated streaming every NFL game would cost fans over $1,600, jumping to $2,300 for cable users.

NHL needs streamers for new audiences

In Canada, Rogers renewed its NHL rights for 12 years at CAD $11 billion (double the previous deal). In 2024, Rogers partnered with Amazon Prime to broadcast Monday Night Hockey ‘as an important way to reach new audiences’ while at the same time forcing fans to sign up for yet another service. This reflects the struggle for content owners to cover increased sports rights costs while attracting younger audiences through streaming, creating a fragmented experience.

Ligue 1 on DAZN underperforms

In France, the Ligue 1 (LFP) and DAZN partnership was expected to drive its digital future, but it fell short of expectations. DAZN reportedly secured only 500,000 subscribers, far short of the 1.5 million needed to break even. The LFP accused DAZN of withholding payments, while DAZN claimed it failed to promote its coverage.

Package deals and platform confusion

These examples highlight an interesting trend. Traditional sports are moving to digital platforms, but often lose the accessibility and communal experience that made them cultural cornerstones. It seems like the average sports fan is willing to pay for sports as part of a package deal but is less likely to spend money on individual leagues or narrow subscriptions.

More importantly, by fragmenting the broadcast rights, leagues risk alienating the next generation of fans, those who expect interactivity, shareability, and instant access, not paywalls and platform confusion.

Creating leagues for the next generation

As established leagues struggle to modernize without losing their identity, a new wave of competitions is emerging, designed for a new generation of sports fans. Leagues like Kings League in Spain, Baller League in Germany, and Clash Basketball in the US are experimenting with new formats, rule sets, broadcasting models, and digital-first fan engagement strategies.

While legacy leagues are trying to retrofit old models for a new audience, these startups are building sports experiences based on the expectations of the next generation.

Let’s take a look at these new leagues, platforms, and business models.

Kings League (ES, IT, BR, FR, DE, LATAM)

The Kings League, a seven-a-side football competition, was founded in 2022 by influencers Ibai Llanos and former Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué. It started on January 1, 2023 in Spain and features 12 teams, each managed by notable figures from sports and entertainment.

The Kings League introduces several innovations to traditional football rules, including unlimited substitutions, tie-breaker penalty shootouts, and "secret weapons" that can temporarily alter gameplay dynamics. These elements make matches faster-paced and more engaging for a younger, digitally native audience.

Games are streamed live on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. They are co-streamed by top influencers and streamers who provide live commentary for their audiences. In its inaugural season, the league drew peak viewership exceeding 1.3 million for select matches.

Its rapid success has driven international expansion, launching new leagues in Mexico, Italy, Brazil, France, and Germany, often featuring football icons like Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Francesco Totti.

The Kings League primarily generates revenue through sponsorships and brand partnerships with companies like Adidas, Gatorade, and Spotify.

Baller League (DE, UK)

Baller League, which defines itself as the new era of football, was launched by former German footballers Mats Hummels, Lukas Podolski, and other partners. After hosting its first games in Germany in early 2024, the league expanded to the UK in 2025.

The format blends elements of field and indoor football, featuring six-a-side matches with teams led by influencers and former professionals. Each game includes unique “Gamechanger” segments that temporarily alter the rules. Teams have a fixed roster but can add wildcard players for each match.

Each matchday includes multiple games at a single venue, turning every week into a full-scale live event involving all teams and players. The league reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers across platforms like YouTube and Twitch. In the UK, matches are also broadcast on Sky Sports and NOW TV, while in Germany some games are available via Joyn and ProSieben Maxx.

Baller League is exploring multiple revenue streams, including branded content integrations, merchandise sales, and ticketed live events. The broadcasts feature influencer commentary, like KSI in the UK, alongside behind-the-scenes access and on-pitch cameras capturing immersive footage. The league is targeting Gen Z and millennial audiences who consume sports differently, favoring short-form content, interactivity, and personalities over traditional team loyalty.

Icon League

The Icon League, a five-a-side indoor football competition that debuted in 2024, was co-founded by German football legend Toni Kroos and streamer Elias Nerlich. The league features 14 teams led by prominent figures from football, entertainment, and social media, including Franck Ribéry, Antonio Rüdiger, and Alphonso Davies.

Matches are played on a pitch with boards on the sides. Each game consists of two 15-minute halves. The league introduces "Rulebreaker" rules that teams can activate once per match to alter gameplay. Examples include a 20-second shot clock, goals counting double if scored over the boards, and temporary player advantages.

The Icon League is primarily streamed on Twitch, with EliasN97's channel playing a significant role in its viewership. The inaugural matchday attracted over 213,000 peak viewers and 1.16 million hours watched.

Other sports league initiatives

A growing number of new leagues are challenging the traditional sports model. Some examples include the Clash Pro League (basketball), TGL (golf), Real American Freestyle (wrestling), and Arena Football One – AF1 (American football). These initiatives aim to innovate gameplay rules, distribution, and ownership structures.

Not all initiatives succeed. For example, Fan Controlled Football (FCF) ceased operations after just two seasons, and the Alliance of American Football (AAF) folded before completing its inaugural season.

However, these efforts highlight the vast potential for innovation in the sports world. They demonstrate how new formats, digital-first strategies, and fan engagement models can open up opportunities to tap into previously hard-to-reach audiences and revenue streams.

New Platforms & Organizations

Many of these emerging sports leagues rely on the reach, flexibility, and engagement tools of new digital platforms to connect with younger, digitally native audiences. Platforms like YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram allow global distribution at lower costs and enable real-time interaction, influencer-driven co-streaming, and short-form content that matches the media consumption habits of Gen Z and millennials.

Playback TV and Clash TV

New initiatives are emerging to capture this new viewing behavior in a single experience. Platforms like Playback TV (NBA, MLB, Football) and ClashTV (street basketball) are have developed dedicated platforms to make live sports more interactive and community-driven. They allow fans to watch games together while creators provide live commentary or analysis, and viewers can join the conversation for Q&A and real-time reactions.

Community Viewing on YouTube

In addition to the emergence of digital-first leagues and new platforms, a growing number of independent creators and YouTube channels are redefining live sports for fans. These fan-led broadcasts don’t have access to the game footage itself, but provide real-time commentary, reactions, and community interaction, transforming passive viewing into a shared, participatory experience.

Several YouTube channels and influencers now provide live commentary during matches for thousands of fans. In the UK, channels like AFTV (Arsenal Fan TV), The Redmen TV, The Club, and That's Football by Mark Goldbridge offer live commentary, analysis, and reactions for dedicated fanbases. In the US, creators like Tom Grossi, ScooterMagruder and ThatsGoodSports apply a similar model for the NFL, providing humorous, insightful, and personalized coverage during live games.

These examples show that while traditional broadcasters are still figuring out the new model, grassroots creators are redefining fan engagement through interactive, community-driven experiences.

LiveMode & CazéTV

Innovation isn’t limited to platforms. New organizations are creating alternative distribution models that engage younger audiences, develop new talent, explore new business models, and expand reach across multiple channels.

A leading example is LiveMode, a sports marketing agency founded in Brazil in 2017. The company partnered with popular streamer Casimiro Miguel to launch CazéTV, a digital-first sports broadcasting initiative that debuted in 2022 by covering the FIFA World Cup, attracting 6.9 million concurrent viewers , many of whom were not tuned into traditional free-to-air TV.

CazéTV attracted 4 million concurrent viewers on YouTube during the gymnastics finals at the 2024. And in a recent broadcast of an NFL game, CazéTV reported that 33% of its viewers were watching American football for the first time. This highlighted its success in introducing new sports to a new audience.

CazéTV’s model emphasizes accessibility and fan engagement, using Casimiro’s influence to offer alternative commentary and interactive viewing experiences. They demonstrate how new organizations can build innovative media models that connect with younger audiences.

Key Lessons for Sports Teams and Leagues

This article explored how sports and leagues are evolving through new approaches to ownership, broadcasting, fan engagement, and monetization. While not every initiative has proven its long-term success, there’s clear demand for fresh formats, new leagues, modern rules, easier access to games, and experiences built around influencers and co-streaming.

Recognizing this shift, some traditional leagues have begun to experiment with alternative broadcast formats and digital-first engagement strategies:

• In 2017, the NBA partnered with Amazon Prime and Twitch to broadcast the NBA G-League on Twitch and allow streamers to co-stream the live games to their followers.
• In 2021, the NFL launched Manningcast for Monday Night Football to create a unique version of the traditional NFL broadcast.
• In 2025, Paramount+ hosted an ‘alternative live broadcast’ with Beckham & Friends Live for the Champions League semifinals.
• The MLS recently announced a partnership with Electronic Arts to stream four regular-season matches on the EA Sports FC Mobile platform.

These experiments show a willingness to test new formats, but many leagues remain hesitant, concerned about disrupting existing broadcast deals or alienating traditional revenue sources.

Lessons for Sports Teams & Leagues

Below are key lessons for sports teams and leagues to adapt. These lessons involve shifting from traditional broadcasting to more interactive, flexible, and digital-first strategies that are reshaping the fan experience.

1. Traditional broadcasting models are ineffective in reaching younger sports fans.
2. Exclusive streaming deals can alienate viewers and fragment the fan experience.
3. Influencers and co-streaming are essential for attracting younger, digitally native fans before, during, and after the match.
4. A multi-platform, digital-first broadcasting strategy offers convenience for viewers and new tools for a more interactive viewing experience.
5. New leagues are experimenting with flexible formats and rule changes to appeal to younger audiences who prefer quick, engaging content.
6. Leagues should leverage digital platforms to expand revenue models like merchandise, branded content, sponsorships, and live events.

Opportunities for Leagues and Teams

Leagues and teams must embrace new opportunities leveraging digital platforms and fan engagement. Below are key areas to create more dynamic, accessible, and community-oriented fan experiences.

1. Make content easier to access across digital platforms and formats, for viewers and influencers. This requires licensing deals that recognize, define, and value these new opportunities, rather than bundling everything into a single package.
2. Leverage the unique capabilities of digital platforms to adopt engagement tools and foster community-driven fan interaction.
3. Enable co-streaming (also known as co-watching, watch-alongs, or companion streams) and empower influencers and fan communities to create new experiences that attract wider audiences.
4. Create new game experience by updating rules and exploring new formats suited to interactive, digital-first consumption.
5. Develop new content formats around live matches, including library content, pre- and post-game shows, and behind-the-scenes footage, to provide deeper access and a more immersive fan experience.
6. Use digital content strategies to craft tailored proposals that reflect the needs of specific markets and fanbases, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.

Ex Machina offers fan engagement tools for sports leagues and teams and creates digital experiences that connect with a new generation of fans while driving new revenue through sponsorship and first-party data and insights.

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