The Ultimate Sports Entertainment Playbook Leading Into 2026

Sport isn’t watched anymore, it’s lived, shared, and felt. Fans create, athletes tell, clubs entertain. This is how you win in 2026.

In the final instalment of our Sports Entertainment series, we distilled our thinking into a practical playbook for 2026 - exploring how brands, rights holders, athletes and investors can build relevance, fandom and growth in a rapidly changing attention economy.

The shift is clear: sport no longer wins simply by being watched, it wins by being felt, shared and lived with. Today, athletes are creators, clubs are media brands, and fans are active participants in the culture surrounding the game. Our playbook outlines how entertainment-led thinking can unlock this new era of sport - from designing ideas for attention rather than exposure, to empowering athletes as storytellers and learning from the rise of women’s sport. The opportunity is simple but powerful: sport doesn’t need to shout louder, it needs to entertain better.