In its Digital Trends Report 2025, IMG has ranked YouTube as the leading platform for the sports industry.
The report highlights YouTube’s strength in reaching, engaging and monetising audiences, placing it at the top of its 2025 Platform Power Rankings, followed by Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
This has been a landmark year for YouTube in the sports sector, with the platform further strengthening its livestreaming capabilities. Over the past year, various sports organisations have turned to YouTube to boost engagement and visibility.
The Women’s Super League (WSL) partnered with YouTube to stream all 66 non-televised matches for the 2024/25 season, for example. According to research from The Guardian, viewing figures for these matches tripled since the deal was signed.
In addition, Channel 4 credited YouTube as playing a significant part in the network’s successful coverage of the Paris Paralympics, noting a particular surge in viewership among younger audiences – a demographic that YouTube is well-known for reaching.
YouTube is also at the forefront of a new wave of content formats, which IMG says are being increasingly adopted by sports leagues and teams globally, with further growth expected in the coming year.
This trend centres around short-form content, popularised through TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. While IMG acknowledges challenges in monetising this content, the company predicts that commercialisation will become more effective in 2025.
Another key trend in IMG’s seventh edition of this report is the shift towards direct-to-consumer (D2C) models, moving from non-premium content to a focus on utility and gamification.
The company states that sports organisations have traditionally used less valuable content for D2C offerings while licensing premium rights to third parties. However, in 2025, this will shift. Sports will move away from standalone offerings based on non-premium content, focusing instead on creating value through participation, gamification and rewards.
Lewis Wiltshire, SVP and Managing Director of Digital at IMG, commented: “2024 has seen a clear advancement in direct-to-consumer strategy and a widespread industry shift towards community-focused platforms, among other trends.
“This is reflected in our platform power ranking, which has seen notable changes to the top 10, as opportunities for rightsholders and dynamics among digital channels evolve.”
Trends in technology
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, sports have embraced innovation like never before. In recent years, football has increasingly relied on technology, from video-assisted refereeing (VAR) to enhancing player scouting and supporting in-game strategies, particularly for set pieces.
While elite athletes are using technology to boost their performance, IMG also points out that everyday users are increasingly adopting wearable technology, such as Apple Watches. This trend creates new opportunities for the sports industry, especially with more user data becoming available.
However, IMG warns that this trend also presents challenges, as the industry will need to compete with increasing distractions for consumers’ attention. The report goes on to discuss the growing battle for both the “first screen” and “second screen”, predicting sports will move away from prioritising one screen over the other, instead focusing on engaging audiences on both screens simultaneously.
Elsewhere in technology, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been impossible to ignore. In 2024, there were notable fan-facing AI activations, including Peacock’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics – highlighted by IMG.
IMG believes that fan preferences have become clear, stating that Meta’s AI celebrity chatbots showed limited interest, with fans prioritising personalisation over artificial personalities.
EuroLeague Basketball has already embraced this view, announcing in July its partnership with WSC Sports to offer fans and partners the opportunity to curate AI-generated content. Additionally, WSC Sports has partnered with several organisations to offer this initiative, including Borussia Dortmund and LOSC Lille.
Wiltshire concluded: “Each year, we’re proud to present the sports industry with a clear view of the technology and trends to be aware of over the next 12 months and our seventh edition is no exception, as we look to guide our partners on their digital strategy via our deep network of specialist expertise.”
