Ampere Analysis has released its latest forecast for global sports rights media spend, predicting that global investment will surpass $78 billion (€67.6bn) by 2030, an increase of 20 per cent from 2025.

Growth is driven by a combination of factors, including major renewals in the US and rising competition from global streamers drawn to premium live sports rights auctions.

Key findings: 

• The US will continue to drive global growth. The new NBA rights cycle starting in the 2025–26 season, alongside new MLB deals from 2029, will push the market to more than $36 billion in 2030.
• Further upside could come if the NFL renegotiates its current agreements. Although many existing deals run until 2034, the League believes its rights are undervalued. Ampere expects initial discussions to start as early as 2026. These could have a significant impact on global rights spend.
• Europe will see steadier growth, up 17 per cent from $18.3 billion in 2025 to $21.3 billion in 2030. While major sports properties in the region have faced downward pressure in recent rights auctions, Ampere expects the growing appeal of live sport to global streamers to ignite market competition in upcoming tenders. Major competitions such as the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics will also drive value growth in 2030.
• Rightsholders are already actively seeking to attract major streaming platforms to rights auctions. UEFA, working with rights agency Relevent, has secured deals with Paramount as part of its latest Champions League tender.
• Ampere expects Asian rights spend to grow from $7.2 billion in 2025 to $9.9 billion in 2030. Indian cricket will be a key driver, with new deals from 2027 — including for the Indian Premier League and ICC tournaments such as the T20 World Cup — driving strong value growth.

Dan Harraghy, Senior Research Manager – Sports at Ampere Analysis, commented: “Sports rights remain a reliable driver of value in media. Major US renegotiations will shape the next rights cycle — including the MLB and potentially the NFL — and these could push global spend even higher. At the same time, the growing involvement of global streaming platforms has the potential to reshape competition in European tenders, while new cricket rights deals in Asia will also increase in value. Together, these dynamics will lift worldwide spend to more than $78 billion by 2030.”

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Tags: Ampere Analysis, MLB, NBA, NFL, sports, World Cup