Sneak preview: global sports streaming industry lessons from the 2026 World Cup
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Matt Stagg, Founder, MTech Sport, Media & Entertainment, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect panel “Global Sports Streaming Industry Lessons From the 2026 World Cup.” The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the biggest global live sporting event of the year, and streaming was central to its success. The tournament’s 104 matches stress-tested streaming’s reach and resiliency like never before, with record concurrent viewership tuning in across a fragmented landscape of platforms and devices. This panel of expert industry analysts will discuss the future of streaming as the primary platform for premium global sport events, what the rights matrix looks like going forward, what worked and what buffered, and lessons learned around localisation, personalisation, advertising, and subscriber retention and growth.
Confirmed panelists include:
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Matt Stagg is senior consultant at MTech Sport, Media & Entertainment, which he founded in 2023. Stagg was voted in the top 50 most influential people in online TV for 4 years, and in 2017, he was awarded the TV Connect People’s Choice award for his impact on the connected entertainment industry. He was previously responsible for developing BT Sport’s mobile capabilities and long-term mobile strategy, and he led the team that delivered the award-winning, first-remotely-produced, live sports event over 5G. Stagg is also non-executive director of Condense, a startup that develops software for creating immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences.
“The World Cup gives us a chance to ask what streaming delivered for fans and where it still needs to improve,” Stagg explains. “I want to explore how easy it was to find and watch the games, how the experience held up under pressure, and whether personalisation and advertising added value. Our panel brings together audience, technology, and commercial perspectives to examine what worked and what we should do differently. If you’re involved in delivering live sport, this is a chance to consider what those lessons mean for your next event.”
Jon Giegengack is the principal at Hub Entertainment Research, which he founded in 2013. Thanks to his more than 20 years of experience in research for the entertainment industry, he recognised the need for real-time insight about the changing world of digital entertainment. Giegengack works with leading entertainment brands including ABC, Comcast, Netflix, Sony, AMC, and AT&T. He is a regular speaker at industry events and has been quoted in publications like Variety, TheWrap, Forbes, and Bloomberg.
“The 2026 World Cup highlighted how streaming and social media have fragmented the sports landscape while creating new opportunities to attract and engage fans,” Giegengack shares. “Sports are so powerful because it’s more than just content—it’s a community that fans choose to be part of. Social media amplifies that sense of community, turning a massive global tournament into a more personal experience. It also gives leagues and media partners more ways to connect with different types of fans, whether they’re diehard fans looking for in-depth analysis and deeper engagement with the game or event-driven fans captivated by the spectacle, star power, and shared excitement of a global event.”
Carlo De Marchis is an Italian sport and media tech advisor, strategist, and the creator of the brand and publication A guy with a scarf.
“As an Italian, I had more time than most of you to focus on the streaming experience, since I had no team to cheer for,” De Marchis says. “I finally saw some innovation in the streaming experience that I had been waiting years for; still a timid start but better than nothing. I have zero passion for the debate between streaming and the other ways of watching, because fans already use all of them at once: the TV, the phone, the tablet, the group chat, and the push notification. I care about keeping all those sources in sync, so nobody reads about the goal before they see it, and I care about what the hydration-break ads did to the rhythm of a football match. Also I am trying to decide if I should renew my domain StreamingLiveSportsIsNotEasy.com, and yes, maybe I should.”
Tony Marlow is the chief marketing officer at Genius Sports, where he leads global marketing and communications. An insights-driven executive and passionate marketer, Marlow is also an adjunct professor of marketing for M.B.A. students at Fordham University. He is a frequent industry speaker and commentator. Additionally, Marlow serves on the board of advisers for social measurement startup Social Status, and he has served on the boards of the IAB Research Council, IAB Video Center, and the Media Rating Council.
“The 2026 World Cup demonstrated that the future of sports streaming is about much more than delivering live coverage to massive audiences,” says Marlow. “It’s about what becomes possible when real-time game data, AI, and advertising come together. Every goal, dramatic finish, and defining moment creates an opportunity for brands to connect with fans in ways that are more relevant, engaging, and impactful. As streaming becomes the dominant way fans experience live sports, the opportunity is to make advertising feel like part of the experience, not an interruption.”
Tim Westcott leads Omdia’s research on TV and video programming and channel distribution. Westcott joined Omdia’s predecessor company Screen Digest in 2004, where his areas of focus included TV production, animation, sports rights, and public broadcasting. He has also edited more than 100 editions of the monthly Media & Technology Digest (formerly Screen Digest). Before that, Westcott worked at the European Audiovisual Observatory in Strasbourg, France, and in a variety of journalism roles.
“We’ve reached a point in the development of streaming live sports where it’s become almost commonplace, without all the snags that affected big events in the recent past. That said, the vast majority of licensees for the 2026 World Cup were traditional linear broadcasters and only a handful—like DAZN in Spain and Japan and CazeTV in Brazil—were exclusively online. The World Cup is one of those events broadcasters are holding on to because it brings then mass, live audiences that help to stem the flow of audiences and ad revenues to the streamers,” Westcott explains.
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