Business

IMG’s Digital Trends Report 2025 highlights AI-driven disruption and YouTube’s continued dominance in sports media

Friday, 21 November 2025 6:16PM UTC

The latest IMG Digital Trends Report 2025 reveals a rapidly evolving sports media landscape, with AI innovations, platform power realignments, and YouTube maintaining its strategic edge amid new challenges and opportunities.

IMG’s Digital Trends Report 2025 reveals a sports media landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and evolving digital platforms, with YouTube maintaining its position as the industry’s top priority platform for the second year running. The report, now in its eighth iteration, highlights the mounting challenge of capturing audience attention amid a surge in both professional and user-generated content across digital channels. Traditional metrics of balancing quality and quantity are no longer enough; today’s sports organisations must consistently deliver polished, relevant, and authentic content, with a strong emphasis on athlete and creator narratives that resonate with fans in a more interactive and genuine way.

A central recommendation from IMG is that sport rights-holders should invest in technology and talent to enhance content production, leveraging AI to streamline workflows and enable scalable, personalised output. Real-time AI translation tools are seen as particularly valuable for expanding global reach and engagement. The report also identifies the emergence of consumer-facing AI platforms like Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT as disruptors to conventional search habits, urging sports organisations to consider ‘Generative Engine Optimisation’ alongside traditional SEO strategies to safeguard and optimise their content discoverability in this fast-evolving digital environment.

In parallel with AI’s growing influence, the report underscores the rising clout of Amazon in the sports sector. Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently entered a multi-year partnership with the NBA to develop AI-powered analytics and fan engagement tools, notably the ‘NBA Inside the Game’ platform, which integrates real-time insights into broadcasts and digital channels. This partnership signals a broader trend of tech giants embedding AI and cloud capabilities into sports experiences. Moreover, Amazon’s deepening involvement extends across leagues and federations, with its infrastructure playing a critical role in the delivery of many popular online services, despite occasional outages highlighting the sector’s dependency on cloud platforms.

YouTube’s dominance remains a defining feature of the sports digital ecosystem. As the world’s largest podcast host and a key driver of short-form video consumption, averaging two billion views a month, YouTube ranks highest in IMG’s platform power rankings, positioned above Instagram and TikTok. Its status as the most popular connected TV app in important markets further cements its strategic importance for sports broadcasters and marketers. The platform’s role in the rise of short-form content dovetails with a wider industry shift towards direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies prioritising gamification and interactivity. However, monetising short-form content continues to pose challenges, though the report anticipates more effective commercialisation in 2025.

Other platforms are also gaining prominence, with Spotify entering the top 12 for the first time amid the podcast boom, and Reddit making notable gains as a community-driven space. In China, the landscape differs markedly, with domestic platforms like Douyin, owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, dominating due to restrictions on international tech players.

Beyond platform dynamics, the report identifies broader technological trends such as the importance of mobile devices, wearables, and AI-driven personalisation, which are collectively revolutionising sports consumption and fan engagement. Industry data also highlight Amazon’s robust financial performance, with a reported 24% year-over-year increase in ad revenue to $17.7 billion in Q3 2025, driven largely by AI-powered advertising tools and innovations like its generative AI Creative Studio.

In sum, IMG’s Digital Trends Report 2025 paints a picture of a sports media industry navigating complex technological advances and shifting consumer behaviours. The convergence of AI, platform power realignments, and immersive content experiences will be critical for sports organisations aiming to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

📌 Reference Map:

^[1] (SportsPro) - Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
^[2] (IMG News) - Paragraph 1
^[3] (Reuters) - Paragraph 4
^[4] (IMG Report) - Paragraph 6
^[5] (IMG Report) - Paragraph 5, 6
^[6] (Insider Sport) - Paragraph 6
^[7] (Bowery Data) - Paragraph 4, 6

Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://www.sportspro.com/news/img-digital-trends-amazon-ai-youtube-november-2025/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.img.com/our-news/img-launches-digital-trends-report-2025-d2c-gamification-ai-personalization-and-wearables - IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025 highlights the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on sports and reaffirms YouTube's position as the priority digital platform for the second consecutive year. The report discusses the challenges of standing out amidst the exponential growth of professional and user-generated content on digital platforms, emphasizing the need for sports organizations to produce consistent streams of polished, relevant, and authentic content. It also addresses the rise of consumer-facing AI platforms and the growing influence of Amazon in the sports industry.
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazons-aws-strikes-ai-cloud-partnership-with-nba-2025-10-01/ - Amazon Web Services (AWS) has entered a multi-year partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to develop and launch AI-powered features and data analytics tools. The 'NBA Inside the Game' platform will transform player and game data into real-time insights and interactive fan experiences, integrated into live broadcasts, the NBA App, the league’s website, and its social media channels. This collaboration underscores a growing trend in the sports industry, where tech partnerships are leveraging AI and cloud services to enhance digital offerings and performance analytics.
https://www.img.com/digital-trends-2025 - IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025 explores the technologies and developments shaping the sports media landscape for rightsholders over the next 12 months. The report discusses trends such as the shift from non-premium content to gamification in direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies, the dominance of mobile devices and wearables, and the importance of AI in personalisation and content discovery. It also highlights the need for sports organizations to adapt to these trends to remain competitive in the evolving digital landscape.
https://www.img.com/digital-trends-2025/platform-power-rankings - IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025 ranks the most important third-party media platforms for the global sports industry. YouTube is crowned as the priority platform, followed by Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Reddit is noted as the year's biggest riser, climbing four places to sixth, reflecting the increasing importance of community-focused platforms. The report emphasizes the need for sports organizations to develop platform-specific strategies to effectively engage audiences across these platforms.
https://insidersport.com/2024/11/20/img-youtube-ai-d2c-sports-2025/ - IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025 highlights YouTube's dominance as the priority platform for the sports industry, its role in the rise of short-form content, and the shift towards direct-to-consumer (D2C) models focusing on utility and gamification. The report also discusses the challenges in monetising short-form content and predicts that commercialisation will become more effective in 2025. Additionally, it addresses the growing influence of AI in personalisation and content discovery within the sports industry.
https://www.bowerydata.com/blog/2025-digital-power-moves-youtube-dominates-meta-surges-amazon-innovates-and-ai-becomes-essential - The article discusses the significant digital power moves in 2025, highlighting YouTube's dominance, Meta's advancements in smart automation and ad targeting, Amazon's innovations in AI-powered ad tools, and the essential role of AI in the digital space. It notes that Amazon's ad revenue surged 24% year-over-year to $17.7 billion in Q3 2025, showcasing strong demand despite economic headwinds. The company is investing heavily in AI-powered ad tools, with capital spending rising to $125 billion, and its new generative AI Creative Studio transforming campaign creation.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 3

Notes: 🕰️ The narrative is based on IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025, published on 19 November 2024. ([img.com](https://www.img.com/our-news/img-launches-digital-trends-report-2025-d2c-gamification-ai-personalization-and-wearables?utm_source=openai)) The report is now in its eighth iteration, indicating it is an annual publication. The article was published on 21 November 2025, which is 2 days after the report's release, suggesting timely coverage.

Quotes check

Score: 8

Notes: ✅ The article includes direct quotes from Lewis Wiltshire, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of Digital at IMG. These quotes are consistent with those found in the original report. ([img.com](https://www.img.com/our-news/img-launches-digital-trends-report-2025-d2c-gamification-ai-personalization-and-wearables?utm_source=openai))

Source reliability

Score: 9

Notes: ✅ The narrative originates from SportsPro, a reputable organisation known for its coverage of sports business and media trends. The report itself is from IMG, a well-established company in the sports industry.

Plausability check

Score: 8

Notes: ✅ The claims about AI's influence on sports media and YouTube's dominance are plausible and align with current industry trends. The article provides specific data points, such as YouTube's ranking in IMG's Platform Power Rankings, which are consistent with the original report. ([img.com](https://www.img.com/our-news/img-launches-digital-trends-report-2025-d2c-gamification-ai-personalization-and-wearables?utm_source=openai))

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH

Summary: ✅ The narrative is based on IMG's Digital Trends Report 2025, published on 19 November 2024, and is covered by SportsPro on 21 November 2025, indicating timely and original reporting. The quotes from Lewis Wiltshire are consistent with the original report, and the source is reputable. The claims made are plausible and supported by specific data points from the report.

Sports Media
Digital Transformation
Artificial Intelligence