Industry Insights: How data and automation are changing sports coverage

Sports broadcasts are no longer built around a single program feed. Production teams increasingly need to support alternate versions, digital-first coverage, supplemental content and personalized experiences while keeping the core live production manageable.

In part three of this four-part Industry Insights roundtable, broadcast technology leaders examine how automation, IP workflows and shared production resources are helping teams create more outputs from the same event. The discussion also looks at the expanding role of replay technology, officiating tools, real-time data and AI-assisted workflows.

As sports coverage becomes more personalized and interactive, the conversation turns to a central challenge: how to give viewers greater context, choice and control without overwhelming them or weakening editorial judgment.

Key takeaways from this Industry Insights roundtable

• More feeds, same source: Broadcasters are increasingly using a strong primary production as the foundation for alternate feeds, localized versions, social content and other platform-specific outputs.
• Automation handles volume: Template-based workflows, orchestration and AI are helping teams manage repetitive tasks while preserving human control over editorial and creative decisions.
• Data supports storytelling: Player tracking, telemetry, real-time statistics and synchronized replay can help explain how and why moments unfold rather than simply documenting what happened.
• Context matters most: Data-rich presentations work best when information is selected and visualized to clarify the action rather than overwhelm viewers.
• Personalization reduces friction: Audiences increasingly value experiences that help them reach relevant teams, players, angles, highlights and commentary options more quickly.

How are production teams managing growing demands for alternate feeds, digital-first coverage and supplemental content streams?

Nicola Milburn, technical sales manager, Hitomi Broadcast: As one production creates more outputs, it becomes much harder to check every path manually. Different versions may go through different processing and delivery routes, so production teams need a clearer way to identify where something has changed or gone wrong. I think we will see much more emphasis on objective verification and alerting, so attention is focused where it is actually needed.

Peder Boberg, product owner, Intinor: Managing these complex streams requires flexible IP routing solutions that can ingest a master feed and redistribute it into multiple formats and protocols simultaneously. Software-driven routers are used as distribution hubs, pushing optimized feeds straight to traditional broadcast, social, and direct-to-consumer platforms. This lets small production teams scale and reach niche audiences without having to deploy additional hardware on-site.

Sergio Ammirata, Ph.D., founder and chief scientist, SipRadius: The key is in building a software environment to support all the services you need. The RIST protocol offers a huge advantage over other transport protocols like SRT in being natively point-to-multipoint and path redundant, so each service gets access to the content it needs simultaneously, whoever they are in the world, eliminating delays in moving data and media management issues. By building security and access control into the RIST flows, the material is both available rapidly and protected from unauthorized eyes.

Colin Moran, VP, production products, LTN: Many organizations are responding by building a strong, consistent primary production and then creating additional versions from that source. The challenge is how to support a near-infinite amount of event feeds while keeping operations manageable. Template-based automation and live event versioning technologies are playing a critical role here, helping pressured teams spin up multiple versions of the same event without significant headcount increases.

Alistair Horne, co-founder, Stingr Tech: The big issue is the 2nd screen currently only works in a live environment, pause the live feed, watch hours or days later and the 2nd screen is meaningless, but also, they’re not always asking for a whole extra stream, they want the one specific thing they’re curious about right then, whether that’s who a player is, a stat, a product someone’s wearing, a sponsor activation, whatever it is. The smarter approach is building useful layers around the broadcast rather than piling more pressure onto the main program itself.

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Bea Alonso, marketing lead, Projective: Teams are shifting from a single-output mindset to designing every workflow for many destinations from the start. That means shared access to raw feeds and assets so digital, social and secondary teams can work in parallel rather than waiting in line. The organizations doing this well treat supplemental content as a first-class deliverable, not an afterthought bolted on once the main broadcast wraps.

Ole-Andreas Løvland, CEO and co-founder, Bitfocus: With demand rising for alternate feeds, digital-first coverage and supplemental streams, the key is to maximize automation wherever there is commonality, releasing operational staff to create the platform-specific feeds that need them. Routing streams, managing graphic data and organizing storage are exactly the processes where an overall control layer can put the right material, in the right formats, in the right places with minimal operator intervention. That leaves creators and producers working with the content they need rather than chasing it.

Nav Khangura, VP, sales and business development, UK & EMEA, TMT Insights: Broadcasters are moving toward a “produce once, publish many” model, where a single event generates multiple versions tailored for different audiences and platforms. By bringing digital and online teams closer to the production, multiple teams work from the same plan to ensure all elements align and follow the correct themes. This approach enables alternate commentary, localized programming, and digital-first content without duplicating production effort and providing audiences with consistent, cohesive, and interconnected content to consume.

What technologies are having the biggest impact on replay, officiating review and real-time production decision-making?

Erik Otto, CEO, Mediaproxy: Computer-based tracking and synchronized playback systems have made the most obvious impact for on-screen sports analysis but low latency multiviewers also play a crucial role. These software-based devices run over IP and cloud workflows to connect production staff, QC technicians and experts, who can be working on-site at outside organizations or from home.

Andy Rayner, CTO, Appear: For replay and officiating, reliable timing and consistent performance remain essential. Every decision depends on accurate video, stable synchronization and dependable signal quality. As more production moves into cloud environments, broadcasters are becoming more selective about where cloud processing fits into the workflow. The aim is to reduce unnecessary movement between different environments and keep signals as consistent as possible from source to delivery. The conversation is no longer about whether cloud production works. It is about choosing the right place for each production function — and having the flexibility to move it — while maintaining the performance needed for live sport, where there is very little room for error.

Martin Lindsay, head of networked solutions, Sony Electronics: Replay and officiating are offering more real-time looks and insights into sporting events. Between being able to extract replays from 4K camera systems to the ultimate clarity of the latest generation of HFR, the viewer is treated to immersive, detailed story telling and images. That also gives commentators the opportunity to further describe plays, and to confirm or overturn penalties and boundaries. This is equally important to the broadcast, challenges and overall officiating.

Jan Schaffner, VP, managed technology, Americas, Riedel Communications: The biggest impact we’re seeing at Riedel is coming from synchronized multi-angle replay, high-resolution optical tracking, connected-ball data and centralized review operations. The NFL’s Hawk-Eye system synchronizes multiple camera angles and uses six 8K cameras for virtual line-to-gain measurement, while FIFA combines optical tracking and ball-sensor information to support semi-automated offside decisions and clearer 3D explanations for viewers. AI will accelerate incident detection and replay discovery, but the most credible model remains technology-assisted human judgment — supported by transparent, easily understood broadcast graphics.

Kevin Wittnebert, senior director, public venues, sports and entertainment, Extreme Networks: AI-powered replay and officiating systems depend on multi-gigabit network infrastructure capable of transporting and processing massive data loads in real-time. Multi-gigabit accelerated networking provides the full-stack infrastructure that enables real-time AI for live sports, delivering predictable low latency and high-throughput performance for live video processing and AI-driven production decisions. Multi-angle AI systems automatically capture panoramic video and upload to the cloud with low-latency feeds, allowing referees to review plays from every angle within seconds. 

How are sports broadcasters integrating AI and automation into live production workflows without compromising editorial control?

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: AI is becoming a powerful tool for improving efficiency, whether through automated clipping, metadata generation, content discovery, or quality monitoring. However, editorial decisions still require human judgment, especially in live sports where context and storytelling are critical. The most successful deployments use AI to augment production teams rather than replace them.

Srividhya Srinivasan, CTO, Amagi: The most successful deployments use AI to automate repetitive tasks such as metadata generation, localization, clipping, quality checks and workflow orchestration, while leaving editorial decisions firmly with production teams. AI should accelerate operations rather than replace human judgement. Editorial teams remain responsible for what goes to air, with AI acting as an assistant that helps them work more efficiently.

Alex Zambelli, director of product, Bitmovin: AI is already embedded across sports production, delivery and operations workflows, which is enabling broadcasters to do more with the content as well as process it much faster than was possible in the past. For example, by embedding AI-driven content analysis into the encoding process, broadcasters can enable optimized encoding to deliver better quality at lower bitrates. In terms of maintaining quality of experience, AI is being used to detect anomalies by correlating playback QoE degradation patterns across concurrent streams with defined characteristics such as specific CDN edges, ISPs, or device types.

Albert Lee, sales director, Accedo: Sports broadcasting today produces masses of content, and manually preparing and organizing such huge volumes of content is obviously very resource heavy, so most are using AI to automate and significantly accelerate tasks like clipping, tagging and preparing content for publishing. From the front-end perspective, it’s also being used to make sure automated outputs like highlights, key moments, team-specific clips, or personalized rails come with the right metadata and business rules so they can be surfaced appropriately in the app experience.

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Bea Alonso, marketing lead, Projective: The most effective approach keeps humans on the decisions and lets machines handle the volume. AI is proving its worth in tasks like automated logging, highlight detection and camera tracking, where it surfaces options quickly for a producer to approve. Editorial control stays intact when automation is framed as an accelerator for skilled operators, not a replacement for their judgment.

Costa Nikols, executive-team strategy advisor, media and entertainment, Telos Alliance: Rather than replacing human expertise, AI is enhancing existing workflows by assisting with audio processing, metadata management, and language detection. For example, AI-assisted audio processing can help create object-based audio from traditional production sources by separating audio elements into individual tracks and preparing them for immersive spatial formats, making advanced audio experiences easier to deliver at scale. Fundamentally, AI enhancements can “listen” and therefore identify issues that may exist around intelligibility, content languages, accessibility enhancements, and help make sure that expectations are met.

Ole-Andreas Løvland, CEO and co-founder, Bitfocus: When it comes to automation in live sports, the point many people miss is that editorial control sits in how the automation is triggered. Intelligent automation can fire multiple processes and devices from a single operator click, or automatically from an event, for instance a game moment triggering not just on-screen graphics but lighting changes and visual effects in the venue and direct social messaging to fans. Far from limiting editorial control, this opens up creative possibilities that simply were not practical when every action had to be found and fired by hand.

Jimbo Haneklau, VP, sales, sports and live events, Imagine Communications: Broadcasters are using AI and automation to streamline operational tasks such as monitoring, resource management, quality control, and workflow orchestration, allowing production teams to focus on storytelling rather than infrastructure. In live sports, where every decision must happen in real time, AI works best by surfacing insights, identifying potential issues, and automating repetitive processes while leaving editorial decisions firmly in the hands of producers and operators. Its greatest value lies in supporting experienced production teams, giving them better information and more time to focus on the creative decisions that shape the viewer experience.

Nav Khangura, VP, sales and business development, UK & EMEA, TMT Insights: Within sports broadcasting, AI is increasingly used to automate repetitive production tasks such as highlight creation, stats-driven graphical overlays, localization and metadata generation, allowing production teams to focus on editorial decisions. Whilst AI drives complex automation in live production, it also enhances the experience for audiences by generating relevant statistical data previously unavailable to production teams. The ultimate goal is to accelerate enhanced content creation while keeping humans firmly in control of storytelling.

How are production teams using real-time data to enhance commentary, analysis and viewer understanding during live events?

Albert Lee, sales director, Accedo: Video services need to be mindful when considering how to present data on different platforms, because what works on CTV doesn’t necessarily work on mobile or web. For CTV for example, data needs to be presented in a lean-back, intuitive way with simple overlays, contextual game information, key stats, or alternate views rather than overly dense dashboards. While on mobile and web, particularly as a second screen complimenting the main broadcast, there’s more room for deeper interaction such as live stats, player comparisons, timelines, alerts, fantasy-style engagement, or companion experiences.

Andrew Ward, business development manager, Cinegy: Software-based solutions lead the way here with telemetry feeds from vehicles, footballers and even the football itself are now expected by sports consumers, and where certain sports provide environmental challenges for telemetry, modern software and hardware can make a difference. One example is powerboat racing where the speed of the vehicles and the difficulties of working at range on water have led to ingenious solutions based around wi-fi. It is an editorial decision as to what data makes sense to present to the viewer during the event, but we on the presentation side have more ways than ever to provide the editor with elements to choose.

What types of analytics are proving most valuable to producers, directors and on-air talent during a live broadcast?

Alex Zambelli, director of product, Bitmovin: There’s no second chances during a live broadcast so any issues that could affect the real-time viewing experience such as rebuffering spikes, CDN outages, encoding errors or authentication failures need to be identified and resolved before they’re felt by viewers. Observability data is therefore particularly important in live streaming because it gives the broadcaster the insights they need to identify and resolve in real time issues affecting both quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE).

How are broadcasters balancing data-rich presentations with the need to keep coverage accessible and engaging for casual viewers?

Xavier Leclercq, VP, business development, Broadpeak: Quality of experience has to come first; even the most sophisticated graphics or in-game statistics lose their value if it becomes disruptive or if they increase the latency of the stream. Also, the debate around hydration breaks has been interesting to watch. Many broadcasters take the opportunity to insert ads during the hydration breaks while others carry on showing the (lack of) action in the stadium. Broadcasters are increasingly looking beyond scheduled commercial windows, such as the recent Club World Cup hydration breaks, in favour of formats such as L-banner, squeeze-back and pause ads that are designed to feel less intrusive. The goal is to enrich the experience — and increase value for rights holders and sponsors — while keeping viewers immersed in the action.

Andrew Lahey, senior manager, solutions services and project management, Ross Video: Fans are asking for more insight than ever, but the challenge isn’t collecting data, it’s presenting it in a way that’s immediately meaningful. Advances in graphics, real-time rendering and augmented reality allow broadcasters to visualize statistics in context, making complex information accessible without slowing the pace of the game. The best productions use technology to simplify the story, not complicate it.

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What role does player tracking and performance data play in shaping modern sports coverage?

Dave Dembowski, CRO, Operative: Fandom is multichannel and digital. That means fans have apps open while watching the game, and they’re scrolling and watching scores and highlights in several places at once. Using data as an overlay to the actual game is just one opportunity. Fans can’t get enough analysis, especially for fantasy and betting. From giving data to top influencers to pushing out social content on specific players, rights holders and leagues can be creative.

Andrew Lahey, senior manager, solutions services and project management, Ross Video: Tracking data has become one of the most powerful storytelling tools in sports production, providing insights that were once impossible to visualize. Broadcasters can illustrate everything from player positioning and speed to subtle technique changes, helping fans better understand the decisions and athleticism behind every play. It’s also opening new opportunities beyond the broadcast, enabling interactive venue experiences and watch parties that connect fans to the action in entirely new ways.

Jan Schaffner, VP, managed technology, Americas, Riedel Communications: Player tracking allows coverage to move beyond explaining what happened and begins to show how and why through information about positioning, speed, pressure, formations, movement and probability. It supports real-time graphics, telestration, analytics-led alternate broadcasts, automated highlights, virtual recreations and personalized coverage centered on individual athletes or tactical themes. The editorial discipline lies in selecting the one metric that advances the story rather than overwhelming viewers with data, while maintaining strong standards for accuracy, competitive integrity and privacy.

How are broadcasters measuring the effectiveness of interactive and data-driven viewing experiences?

Dave Dembowski, CRO, Operative: There are two metrics that matter: the fan base and revenue. Growing a loyal and engaged fan base across channels shows a team is thriving and creating value. The actual engagement with content matters. Next, it’s important to understand how this additional layer of engagement translates to revenue, from ticket sales to advertising to merchandise and connecting the dots for proper attribution is key.

Paul Davies, head of marketing, Yospace: If broadcasters want to prove and enhance the value of their advertising space, they need to provide quality ad-measurement data, alongside deep viewability data. This type of data is critically important because it allows advertisers to assess attribution and performance. However, extracting this data from 100% of the audience is a challenge, especially with third-party distribution and syndication, and requirements varying across different device types. New measurement standards, namely SVTA’s Ad Creative Signalling and CTA’s CMCDv2, aim to address that, enabling advertisers to measure ad success more effectively. 

Xavier Leclercq, VP, business development, Broadpeak: We’re seeing a real interest in performance-based advertising, where engagement and measurable outcomes matter more than impressions alone. Interactive features like shoppable TV advertising can help broadcasters compete more effectively with digital platforms, but we still need closer collaboration between content owners, retailers and the ad tech ecosystem tying it all together. Ultimately, though, some of the most important measures are long-term subscriber retention and engagement time.

Albert Lee, sales director, Accedo: Ultimately, service providers need to know whether the features improve retention or monetization. At the application layer, useful metrics include feature interaction, clicks into stats or highlights, favorite team selection, personalized rail engagement, continue-watching behavior, subscription conversion, churn reduction, and platform-specific usage. Also important to remember is that although a particular feature may perform well on mobile, this doesn’t necessarily mean it will perform the same on CTV. Services therefore need to carry out cross-platform analytics, breaking measurement down by device type and user context.

Jan Schaffner, VP, managed technology, Americas, Riedel Communications: Audiences respond most strongly to enhancements that provide greater control and improve their understanding of the action — or provide access that a conventional camera plan is unable to deliver. Multiview, personality-led alternate broadcasts, real-time statistics, personalized highlights and selective point-of-view cameras appeal to different levels of fandom, with research identifying real-time updates and personalized content among fans’ leading priorities. FIFA’s Referee View (RefCam), has been a particularly strong example at the 2026 World Cup, using a stabilized headset-mounted camera to bring viewers closer to the speed, physicality and intensity of the game.

What are audiences responding to most when it comes to personalized or enhanced sports viewing experiences?

Dave Dembowski, CRO, Operative: Audiences want on-demand content that puts them closer to the action and connects them to the players and teams that they love. This means different things for different channels. On streaming, audiences need choice and convenience, such as behind-the-scenes interviews that they can pick from, or post-game analysis that they can connect to their betting app. But media companies can also personalize on other channels like social with more specialized content for hardcore fans, or with content around a specific athlete.

Yang Cai, CEO and president, VisualOn: Today’s sports fans expect more than a one-size-fits-all broadcast experience. They want personalized content, real-time insights, and the flexibility to watch across multiple devices and platforms. The most successful sports experiences are those that combine personalization with seamless delivery, making it easier for fans to connect with the content that matters most to them.

Colin Moran, VP, production products, LTN: What matters is context. Fans want coverage that feels connected to their interests rather than a generic feed designed to serve everyone in the same way. This has become increasingly important as sports content expands across streaming services, FAST channels, social platforms, and traditional broadcasters. Each platform serves different audiences and has different requirements. For rights owners, the ability to tailor content for those audiences can strengthen engagement while creating additional distribution and monetization opportunities from the same event.

Paul Davies, head of marketing, Yospace: There’s a growing demand for low-latency streaming because viewers naturally want to stream live sports action that’s as close to real time as possible. This is driving new standards that support server-guided ad insertion (SGAI), which enables more reliable addressable advertising at scale with low-latency, something that has historically been a major hurdle for the industry. SGAI also better enables extended DVR windows, allowing viewers to scroll back in the timeline for longer than previously possible, providing them with greater control and flexibility, and enabling broadcasters to monetize those rewound streams through dynamic break replacement.

Xavier Leclercq, VP, business development, Broadpeak: Viewers increasingly expect experiences that feel relevant to them, whether that’s more personalized advertising or greater control over how they watch live sport. Features such as multiview are becoming especially popular during major tournaments or gameday weekends, as it’s giving fans far more flexibility to choose how they experience live sport, whether that’s their following their preferred motorsport racer, or keeping an eye on several championship games at once. Personalized advertising works best when it enhances the experience naturally and contextually, rather than overloading the viewer with repetitive ad spots.

Albert Lee, sales director, Accedo: The most powerful personalization features are usually the ones that enable the viewer to get to the content they care about faster, removing friction rather than adding complexity. This is especially important for sports services with large content catalogs, where there may be many teams, many leagues, or a high volume of events. This can be done through the use of personalized highlights and recommendations, continue watching, upcoming game reminders, and tailored content rails.

Sarah Hackforth, director, international sales, Big Blue Marble: A fan who has just watched a goal, a controversial decision, or a standout performance wants the replay, the player statistics, a different angle, or a tactical explanation almost immediately, not an hour later in a post-match roundup. Getting there requires the content to be properly tagged and linked to what is happening on the field, so platforms can surface the right clips, statistics, analysis, or mobile formats quickly and without heavy manual intervention. That way, fans can get closer to the moments they care about without having to search for them or wait until the game is long over.

Costa Nikols, executive-team strategy advisor, media and entertainment, Telos Alliance: Next generation audio (NGA) is an important part of this story, and broadcasters are becoming more willing to invest in NGA-ready workflows. NGA allows viewers to choose from different commentary options and languages, opening up spatial formats and immersive audio experiences. Better accessibility features, such as clearer dialogue and improved audio description, are also moving into the spotlight, while evolving regulations, such as California’s new streaming loudness requirements, are placing greater emphasis on delivering a consistent, high-quality audio experience across every platform.

Steph Lone, global leader, solutions architecture, media and entertainment, Amazon Web Services: Vertical video. More than 75% of video viewing now happens on mobile, and Fox Sports found nearly 90% of their digital content is consumed vertically. Live sports compete directly with TikTok and Reels for attention, so broadcasters delivering full 9:16 live broadcasts are the ones capturing and keeping audiences.

Nav Khangura, VP, sales and business development, UK & EMEA, TMT Insights: Audiences, more specifically sports fans, value experiences that feel personally relevant to them, whether through localized commentary, personalized highlights, alternate broadcasts, or region-specific content. Personalization is most effective when it enhances the viewing experience without taking away from shared excitement, supplementing the main event without trying to replace it. Enhanced viewing experiences are typically experimental in nature with broadcasters looking to test which new technologies connect with the audience the most; these fluctuate in success with only very limited enhancements making it to the main production.