The NFL is giving sports activities followers a triple header for Christmas this yr, beginning with the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Commanders at 1 p.m. ET, plus a Snoop Dogg halftime efficiency. But you need to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon to observe all of the motion.
The tech giants have eaten the leisure world, and now they’re coming for sports activities.
Together, Amazon and YouTube TV account for 65% of the $6.5 billion that streamers will spend on sports activities rights for US audiences in 2025 (34.4% and 30.6%, respectively), in keeping with Ampere Analysis. The third greatest share went to Netflix, with 11.3%. Disney’s ESPN+ and Comcast’s Peacock held a distant fourth and fifth place.
Ampere Analysis, Andy Kiersz/BI
Amazon and YouTube have actively pursued vital offers for sports activities rights lately, with Amazon paying $11 billion for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football and $19.8 billion for NBA rights, and YouTube paying $14 billion to safe NFL “Sunday Ticket” rights.
Netflix has additionally been lively, scooping up NFL Christmas Day video games and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson combat, though it prefers to deal with sports activities as a part of a broader reside occasions technique that features comedy specials and awards exhibits slightly than “renting” full seasons of sports activities rights. An individual acquainted with Netflix’s spending stated they pegged it at about $600 million versus Ampere’s calculation of $738 million.
Ampere’s knowledge comes with a number of caveats. Its measurements of eight platforms exclude spending for rights distributed internationally — resembling Amazon’s spending on NFL rights exterior the US, or on the UEFA Men’s Champions League inside the UK — and for DAZN’s acquisition of the worldwide FIFA Club World Cup 2025 rights for $1 billion.
Broadcasters stay the biggest patrons of sports activities rights within the US, though streamers are making inroads.
Nearly half (47%) of US broadcasters’ content material spending — $24 billion — went to sports activities rights in 2025, per Ampere. Most of US streamers’ content material budgets nonetheless go to TV exhibits and movies. This yr, 10% of their content material budgets general went to sports activities in 2025, up from 6% in 2024. Even for Amazon, sports activities had been about 19% of its spending on content material, approaching the quantity it spends on films.
Sports can assist streamers develop engagement and hold audiences subscribed. However, the rising value of sports activities means much less cash for an already stagnating entertainment TV ecosystem that has been producing fewer exhibits for the reason that finish of Peak TV in 2022.
Disney stated in its fourth quarter earnings name that it will spend $24 billion within the subsequent fiscal yr, pushed largely by sports activities rights. CFO Hugh Johnston justified paying a greater than 73% step up for NBA rights in its 2024 deal by pointing to their worth to audiences and advertisers, regardless of the associated fee creating “a little bit of bumpiness during the course of the year.”
Netflix in contrast its current NFL deal to the cost of its movies, which it has been making fewer of. Asked about the price of the deal at an investor convention final yr, Netflix exec Spencer Wang stated he would characterize every recreation as “roughly the size of one of our medium-sized original films.”
The shift of sports activities to streaming platforms seems to be prone to proceed.
Ampere forecasts international spending on sports activities rights to extend by 20% to $78 billion worldwide by 2030. Spending will likely be pushed by the US, the place new NBA and MLB rights will likely be up for grabs within the coming years. Talks for the following spherical of NFL negotiations may begin as early as 2026, because the league seeks to maximise the worth of its media rights.
YouTube TV can also be increasing its play for sports activities followers, saying a brand new sports bundle together with different area of interest packages that value lower than its common $83-per-month service.