2026 Sports Predictions | SportsPro Forecasts

Sam Carp | The PGA Tour and LIV Golf will move on from their merger

Another year has passed without the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour formalising their commercial merger first announced in June 2023 – and I can’t see that changing by this time in 2026. With little evidence that either side is prepared to budge on its demands, all signs from the last 12 months suggest the trio are preparing for things to continue as they are.

LIV Golf has made a series of major hires to its leadership team, including appointing Scott O’Neil as chief executiveand has started to see some meaningful commercial progress. The PGA Tour is undergoing a competition review and leadership transition of its own, with new chief executive Brian Rolapp taking on the day-to-day responsibilities of Jay Monahan, who will leave his role as commissioner in 2026. Then there is the European Tour, which has just signed a long-term extension of its title sponsorship with DP World.

To me, those don’t seem like the manoeuvres of three organisations gearing up for life as one and, at some point, everyone will have to find another way forward. What seems more likely is compromise and collaboration in areas like scheduling and opportunities for top players from all sides to compete together – but not the unification that was once promised.

Will leadership changes at the top of golf finally lead to a long-awaited merger? Or will it have the opposite effect? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Steve McCaskill | Sport will find even more unconventional ways to bring content to market

Rights holders are being forced to think differently at a time when there is unprecedented competition for fans’ attention and where the biggest properties are securing an ever-greater share of broadcasters’ budgets.

With pay-TV becoming less lucrative, and younger audiences shifting from linear to digital platforms, tier two and disruptor properties, as well as those looking to expand internationally, are looking for new methods to find the ideal balance between reach and revenue.

Influencers like Zack Nani and Mark Goldbridge already offer live soccer on their channels, while CazeTV has secured blue-chip rights like the Fifa World Cup in Brazil. This shift from broadcaster to creator is analogous to the way athletes are cultivating greater profiles and loyalty than teams among younger audiences who are the future of sports fandom.

Meanwhile, Major League Soccer (MLS) offers live matches through EA Sports FC, while Serie A, the Bundesliga and others are reviving the concept of pay-per-view (PPV) in international markets at a time when even combat sports are abandoning the model. Then there are global digital clip deals and podcast integrations.

Digital innovation is crucial for rights holders of all sizes, but the economics of the old broadcasting world are slowly unravelling for all but the biggest, and everyone else is embracing unorthodoxy out of necessity.

Mani Gill | Netflix will launch a dedicated sports video podcast vertical

This year, Netflix laid the strategic groundwork for expanding beyond scripted television and live events and into video podcasting, including by partnering with Spotify to bring shows like The Bill Simmons Podcast and The Mismatch to the platform in 2026. The streamer has also reportedly been in discussions with Hollywood agencies like WME and CAA about signing video podcasters and licensing shows, and recently struck a deal with radio network iHeartMedia, which demonstrates that the company is building the pipes for something much bigger.

Another sign came from its recent deal with Goalhanger to bring Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football podcast to Netflix as a daily show during next year’s Fifa World Cup, giving it a way to be part of the conversation without having rights to the tournament. Rather than being a one-off experiment, this could be a proof of concept that eventually sees the streamer upscale audio-first hits into globally distributed video franchises.

In 2026, I therefore predict that Netflix will double down and launch a dedicated sports video podcast vertical, so expect to see a flurry of creator deals and athlete-led formats over the next 12 months. This will not only help build a catalogue of original and licensed shows, but also drive deeper, year-round engagement with subscribers – particularly fans signing up to the platform to watch its growing portfolio of live sports.

Ed Dixon | The NFL will open the door to bigger private equity investment

The NFL is always looking at opportunities for growth. That mindset prompted sport’s richest league to finally allow private equity funds to acquire up to ten per cent of its franchises in 2024. The decision was meant to provide extra liquidity for owners so they could invest more liberally in everything from stadium upgrades to fan experience enhancements – helping to drive franchise valuations even higher.

A year on from the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins signing the first private equity deals in NFL historyinterest from institutional investors has been steady, but there is yet to be a deluge of deals. One reason is the relatively modest stake size on offer, which is passive in nature. For firms that prefer to be hands-on investors, that’s a good enough reason to stay away.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes the current system is “working quite well”, but he has also hinted that an increase in the amount private equity firms can buy may not be far off. Rather than years, I think we’re months away from that changing and more funds being permitted to invest. It’s an obvious decision for a league intent on staying ahead of the pack when it comes to driving value.

Josh Sim | The next women’s sports star will come from volleyball

While volleyball players are yet to go mainstream, 2026 could be the year that one becomes a household name in US sport.

Volleyball is already immensely popular at the grassroots level, while college volleyball continues to generate big attendances and set viewership records for ESPN. In the professional game, next year will see three leagues take place in the US, including Major League Volleyball (MLV), the revamped competition formed by the merger of MLV and the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF). Over two seasons, the PVF gained more than 80 million social impressions and nearly one million total digital engagements.

Meanwhile, League One Volleyball (LOVB) enjoyed a strong debut season in 2025 from a commercial and viewership perspective, and will now add Versant as a broadcast partner in 2026. Having caught the attention of prominent investors like Alexis Ohanian and David Blitzer, it promises to grow the sport’s fanbase and provide a brighter spotlight for the game.

This growing investment and visibility will give players the platform to boost their profile, especially those coming out of college. With the Women’s Volleyball World Championship being held in the US and Canada in 2027, it’s the perfect opportunity for the sport to find its very own Caitlin Clark or Ilona Maher to take it to a wider audience.

League One Volleyball has attracted significant investment, which could create a platform for the next women’s sports star to emerge (Image credit: Getty Images)

Michael Long | Sport’s value will rise as AI drives demand for authentic experiences

A year stacked with major events and seasonal fare provides another opportunity to do what sport does best: bring people together, get them off their sofas and devices, inspire kids to get outdoors and get active.

For all the focus within the industry on growing and monetising digital communities, delivering great broadcast products and creating immersive content experiences, sport’s true value lies in its fundamental ability to meet our human need for shared experiences and social connection. It is, after all, a business built on cultural moments – and one which only stands to benefit as wider societal and technological shifts accelerate in 2026.

In the age of AI and content overabundance, a synthetic world marked by algorithm-induced doomscrolling, sport offers a unique counterpoint, providing a form of unscripted, unpredictable, appointment-to-view drama not even Netflix can resist. As demand for real-life, in-person experiences grows, capital will flow towards those who create them, driving up the value of live sport. Ticket prices will continue to soar, new revenue opportunities will open up, and franchise transaction records will be broken once again.

Savvy sports investors know humans are social animals. They also know sports IP is scarce. That powerful combination means a premium will always be placed on sporting assets – from teams and events to commercial rights.

Spectators are, by definition, participants and participation – not consumption – is the best gateway to lifelong fandom. That won’t change in 2026. If AI is set to transform every aspect of our lives, let’s hope it frees up enough leisure time among the general population not only to consume more content, but to get out and experience the world, whether that’s live sport, music, entertainment, art, culture, or anything else that makes life worth living.

Will AI make the live sport experience even more precious? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Cian Brittle | Place your bets on Formula One

Formula One has become a commercial machine under the guidance of chief commercial officer Emily Prazer and her team, but there is one area that is yet to see its potential maximised.

In February, ALT Sports Data became the series’ official betting data supplier. This was quickly followed by Formula One’s director of commercial partnerships Jonny Haworth revealing at the BlackBook Motorsport Forum that the series was concentrating efforts on developing an “engaging betting product”.

There has been no further news since then but expect to see a lot of momentum in this area as the 2026 season starts to get underway. Betting has not been widely promoted in the series before, so official partnerships will put this sector right in front of Formula One audiences for the first time.

Whether this aligns with Formula One’s quest to attract younger audiences is a valid query, especially at a time when betting sponsorships are considered controversial. The Premier League will ban betting brands from front-of-shirt sponsorships from the 2026/27 season, for example.

However, there is no escaping that betting is a hugely lucrative sponsorship category, so expect to see Formula One focus on this area next season.

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