United States: spending on sports TV rights at $30.5bn in 2025, up 122% compared to 2015

Spending on sports TV rights is estimated at $30.5bn (€26.2bn) in the United States in 2025, up 122% on 2015 ($13.8bn/€11.8bn), according to a study by the British consultancy Ampere Analysis published on 27/08/2025.

"Over the same period, total TV industry revenues increased by just 24%, meaning investment in rights has grown five times faster than the broader market. Sports rights now account for 14% of total TV revenue, underlining the premium value of live sport," said the firm.

In the United States, 2025 marks the start of a new cycle of domestic media rights for NBA broadcasting (2025-2036). The American conglomerate The Walt Disney Company (owner of the ESPN group), the audiovisual group NBCUniversal and the American group Amazon acquired the TV rights to the North American league for 11 seasons on 24/07/2024. This new agreement is valued at $76bn, or $7bn per season (+216% vs. 2016-2025/$24bn, or $2.4bn per year), according to the New York Times.

• "In the UK, sports rights spend has grown at twice the rate of TV revenues since 2015, and 1.6 times as fast in Spain. But in…