In the eighth iteration of its annual Digital Trends Report, global sports marketing agency IMG has found that AI is ‘at the heart’ of changes within the media and sports industry.
Digital Trends Report 2026 explores the technologies and developments that will shape the sport and media landscape for rightsholders over the next 12 months.
The age of quality over quantity is over, according to the report. Sports brands need to publish high-quality, high-volume material across every platform all the time. It suggests companies should use AI to streamline workflows, while investing “heavily” in creative and resources. “The brands that scale up production without sacrificing purpose or originality will dominate attention and engagement,” added the report.
While real-time AI translation has made content globally accessible, companies should still consider human localisation in order to deliver the right tone, humour, and relevance. “To resonate worldwide, sports brands must maintain quality control, invest in regional ambassadors, and create locally authentic narratives rather than relying on machine-translated messaging. Being local as well as fluent is now the key to global growth,” said IMG.
The report suggests that while short-form video dominates social media feeds, long-form content fosters fandom, retention, and revenue. “Sports organisations must balance formats, using short clips to attract attention but guiding fans toward podcasts, live streams, and storytelling that sustain engagement and emotional connection.”
Speaking about the report’s findings, IMG’s SVP and managing director, digital, Lewis Wiltshire said: “This year represents our most global trends report to date, capturing insights from our team of more than 200 digital experts across five continents. Each edition has reflected the evolution of our digital world, and for the first time you’ll see AI is threaded throughout our predictions as the heart of all change for our industry. But amidst the technological advances, we predict that human creativity and local insight will matter more than ever as we move into 2026.”
The full report is available to read here.
