When the World Cup kicks off this month, it will be the biggest version of the biggest sporting event on earth.
More teams. More matches. More host cities. More fans entering through more screens. How will broadcasters carry the emotion of the match, then keep that emotion moving across every platform? How will they hold on to the fans they pull in during the tournament?
Four years ago, I wrote about how AI and automation were helping broadcasters keep pace with the World Cup. The question back then was essentially one of speed: how do you turn match footage into highlights, clips, and localized packages fast enough to matter?
That problem is largely solved. The question broadcasters are bringing to us now is bigger and more interesting: how do you run a 24/7 digital content operation across 39 days and 104 matches, without scaling your team proportionally to match it?
That move, from automating outputs to automating an entire content strategy, is what makes 2026 a different kind of tournament for rights holders.
In 2022, a broadcaster might have automated 50 clips from a match. In 2026, the same broadcaster is automating every moment around the match: the pre-match build-up, the training session the day before, the press conference after, the fan reactions, the social cuts, the streaming recap. It is a different operation entirely.
This year’s tournament will be defined by two important shifts.
First, the scale is not just bigger. It is a quantum leap for World Cup coverage. Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, for example, has scheduled more than 700 hours of World Cup programming over the 39 days of the tournament. Only a portion of that will be live matches.
The rest will be everything around the matches: pregame and postgame shows, daily analysis, original programming, documentaries, free streaming channels, and social video.
Second, this will be the most digital-first World Cup yet. Broadcasters are using streaming hubs to expand the scope of coverage, turning live matches, replays, highlights, and daily shows into a single experience fans can return to throughout the day.
That shift is even clearer in the role YouTube and TikTok will play as FIFA’s official partners. In 2022, those platforms were places fans might go to find highlights. In 2026, they are part of FIFA’s core strategy for bringing younger fans into the World Cup experience from the start.
The message is clear: digital is being planned as part of the World Cup experience from the start, alongside the broadcast.
Together, those shifts raise the bar for World Cup coverage. Every match now has to work as a live event, a digital content engine, and a reason for fans to come back again.
Here are some of the biggest trends for broadcasters this year.
The Matchday Gets the 360° Treatment
In 2022, broadcasters were still focusing on how quickly they could turn match footage into highlights, clips, and localized packages. Being quicker to post was often rewarded with more views and greater impact.
In 2026, speed still matters, but the lens is wider. The top plays are only the beginning. The broadcasters we’re working with in this tournament are asking for a dramatically wider scope of automation. They want the game and everything around it.
This kind of 360° coverage creates more ways to keep fans emotionally attached to the event.
The material around the game is part of the coverage system, not just extra footage. Our own research backs this up: 78.6% of fans say behind-the-scenes and off-field content is at least somewhat important to how they follow sports.
Streaming Keeps the Tournament Alive between Live Games
For much of the world, the 2026 World Cup will not unfold in perfect viewing hours. With the tournament taking place across North America, millions of fans will experience the tournament through catch-up programs or curated recaps.
Streaming platforms give broadcasters a place to organize the World Cup for fans who cannot watch everything live. Fans can catch up and stay involved in the tournament. These hubs make the tournament feel continuous, providing a clear path back into the action at any time.
Creators Bring the Tournament Closer to Fans
Content creators have always been part of the sports landscape, typically as outsiders commenting on the action. This year, broadcasters like DAZN are giving creators a more formal role in how the tournament is covered and shared.
DAZN48 will bring together 48 creators, one for each participating nation, to tell the story of the World Cup through social-first, fan-led content. That gives the tournament local voices, cultural context, and a more personal way into the event.
Owned Platforms Turn Attention Into Value
The World Cup will create attention everywhere. The harder part is converting that attention into long-term value.
World Cup fans will be all over the map. Some will stay up late to watch matches live. Others will dip in and out when a highlight hits their social feed. Others will be carried away by the hype and national fervor.
Social platforms will pull millions of fans into the tournament. But social is ultimately a funnel, not a destination. The goal is to continue that relationship in owned platforms through apps, websites, OTT products built around how fans actually follow sports.
Owned platforms give broadcasters a place to make that scattered experience easier to follow. They also give rights holders something they cannot get from reach alone: a clearer view of what fans care about, what brings them back, and what keeps them engaged.
That understanding is what turns a successful tournament into a lasting audience relationship, and where the real commercial value lies.
A Bigger Opportunity for Broadcasters
The 2026 World Cup will show how much sports media has changed since 2022. The tournament now gives broadcasters more ways to capture the emotion of the live match, extend it across platforms, and turn short bursts of attention into deeper fan relationships.
The opportunity is not just to cover the biggest World Cup ever. At WSC Sports, the shift we’re seeing from clients reflects everything described above. They’re thinking about the World Cup in a more holistic way, less ‘give us highlights faster’ and more ‘help us run our entire digital strategy around the tournament.’ That’s a fundamentally different approach and a more interesting one to solve.
Yitav Topaz is Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at WSC Sports
