Biographical Information

Articles for Matt Stagg

Sports Media Predictions: Looking Ahead to 2026

The next phase of sports media will not be defined by breakthroughs alone. It will be defined by decisions. About focus. About balance. And about where value really sits.

When Stadiums Start Thinking for Themselves

There is something special about walking into a stadium. The noise, the anticipation, the energy you can feel in your chest. For all the things technology has transformed in sport, that moment has remained stubbornly human. But stadiums are changing. Slowly, quietly, and in ways most fans never see, the matchday venue is becoming one of the most technologically sophisticated environments in sport.

Even if Netflix Gets the Library, Can It Take the Stadium?

What the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal means for sport if it goes through. And why it is not simple.

If Netflix Gets the Library, Can It Take the Stadium?

What the potential Netflix-Warner Bros. deal means for sport. And why it is not simple.

The New Golden Hour: Why the Real Battle Begins After the Final Whistle

For years, broadcasters built everything around the final whistle. The match ended, the pundits stepped in, and the coverage eased into analysis. Today, that moment is just the start. The real battle begins the second the referee blows for full time. This is the golden hour, the most valuable window in modern sport, and it has become one of the most competitive moments in the whole ecosystem. Once you lose the golden hour, it is very hard to win the story back.

Automation Fatigue: Finding the Balance

The more we automate, the less we notice when creativity starts to fade. You can feel it in production teams that stop questioning. You can hear it when the director's voice is replaced by a workflow alert. When efficiency becomes the loudest voice in the room, the human instinct that makes sport so compelling starts to fade.

The Champions League Goes Global. But Can Streaming Carry the Weight?

News of Paramount's successful bid for the Champions League and the weeks of rumours that preceded it have set the industry buzzing. It feels like a natural next step. Fans are global. The game is global. The biggest platforms in the world want premium, live, must-watch content.

Smart sport streams still need a heart: AI can learn the game, but it can’t feel it

When it comes to algorithm-based sport coverage, from capture to cuts to commentary by synthetic voice, much of the tech required to remove humans from the equation already exists. AI can recognise goals, track the ball, and switch between angles faster than any human. But you can't replicate the buzz, the instinct, the unspoken coordination of a team reacting in real time. That's what makes live sport feel alive.

Losing the Feed, but Owning the Story

For decades, broadcasters were the heartbeat of live sport. They owned the feed, shaped the story, and set the standard. But today, that control is slipping, not because audiences have abandoned them, but because the definition of "live" has changed.

Fans in the feed: mining the untapped gold of fan-created sport content

Today every sport fan has a camera in their pocket. Every goal, reaction and celebration can be clipped, shared and spread within seconds. In many ways, these moments feel more authentic than the broadcast itself. But here is the problem: most of that content never makes it into the official feed. It lives on social, disconnected from the live coverage, even though it is what fans are already watching, sharing and talking about.

Streams that Sell: Strategies for shoppable sport streams

Shoppable sport streaming is not about turning sport into a shopping channel. It is about extending the fan experience without breaking it. Get it wrong and you cheapen the match. Get it right and you unlock a new layer of value broadcast never could.

The Future of Live Sport: Get Some Skin in the Game

All fans don't want the same experience. They don't consume sport content in the same places, with the same purpose, or with the same expectations. And yet, the industry still builds around the default—the single, editorially led, one-size-fits-all feed. It's time we treated live sport like what it really is: a base layer with infinite skinning potential. That's the model that drives engagement in every other digital format. And if broadcasting wants to stay culturally relevant, that same logic needs to be applied—fast.

When Live Sport Isn’t Live

Low latency is not a nice-to-have. It's the difference between being in the moment and watching it on delay. In sport, the moment is the product.

With live sport streaming, control the platform, control the game

Streaming platforms, tech giants, and traditional broadcasters are all fighting to become the destination for live sport viewers. And in the middle of it all are the fans, facing rising costs, fractured access, and a growing sense of fatigue. The rights war has become a platform war. And no one's sitting on the sidelines.

Who Owns the Emotion in Sport?

The most powerful moments in sport aren't being broadcast. They're being clipped, remixed, and shared long before the highlights drop.

DIY Broadcast: How Underrepresented Sports Are Building Their Own Streaming Stacks

That's changing. With automated cameras, cloud production platforms, and AI-driven tools now capable of delivering the full suite of broadcast workflows—from live switching and graphics to clipping, highlights, and distribution—sports that once had no way to show themselves are building their own streaming stacks. They're not waiting to be picked up. They're going live—and taking control.