Rising sports rights costs are not keeping pace with total revenue
growth from broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, according to Ampere Analysis.
For the last 10 years, U.S. sports rights costs have rocketed up 122% to $30.5 billion in 2025
(versus $13.8 billion in 2015).
Over the same period, total TV industry revenue (broadcast, cable and streaming) from advertising, subscription, licensing and other business
climbed 24% to $213 billion in 2025 (versus $172 billion in 2015).
This means that the part of the overall U.S. TV revenue going to pay for that sports content has grown to 14% in
2025 (from 8% to 2015).
Recent high-profile and long-term sports contracts include the NBA's $76 billion contract (an 11-year deal struck earlier this year among TV
networks/streamers, starting up for the 2025-26 TV season) as well as Walt Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video).
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The NFL inked an $110 billion,
11-year deal in 2021 with Paramount Skydance (CBS/Paramount+), Disney (ESPN/ABC), Fox Television Network, NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock), and Amazon Prime Video.
Looking specifically at
advertising revenues, live sports programming accounted for 39.5% of total U.S. national TV advertising spend, according to iSpot.TV estimates, in the fourth quarter of 2023 -- this thanks to NFL and
college football content. In the third quarter of 2024, it dropped to 31.2% share.