IN today’s digital-first sports landscape, the unauthorized use of audio-visual content and official data poses a growing threat to leagues and federations. Rights misuse can result in severe financial losses and reputational damage, undermining the value of the very content that drives fan engagement and revenue.
One of the most pressing challenges federations face is the unauthorized use of data for sports betting and fan engagement purposes. This practice undermines the value of official data rights and bypasses the legitimate channels established to protect the integrity of sport.
Federations also face difficulty in detecting and enforcing against these abuses. The rapid spread of live betting markets has only increased the demand for real-time data, making it even more important to protect these rights and ensure that data is accessed and used responsibly.
Sportradar, a leading global sports technology company, plays a key role in addressing this issue. Entrusted by major federations and leagues such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Sportradar is not only responsible for managing content but also protecting data and audio-visual rights.
To tackle the growing threat of rights violations, Sportradar established a dedicated Rights & Revenue Protection team. This global team works with sports federations and leagues to build and execute tailored rights protection strategies. The team is comprised of professionals with background and experience in law enforcement, anti-money laundering and anti-piracy operations as well as military and risk intelligence. It is responsible for detecting data misuse, conducting investigations, gathering evidence, and identifying and enforcing piracy violations, particularly around major sporting events.
“The misuse of sports content not only undermines commercial rights but also threatens the integrity and sustainability of sport itself,” said Mikael Santelli, Vice President, Rights & Revenue Protection at Sportradar. “Our mission is to protect the investment that leagues and federations put into creating world-class competitions. By combining technology, intelligence, and legal expertise, we help rights holders enforce their rights, preserve value, and ensure a fair digital playing field.”
A key example of this in practice is Sportradar’s partnership with the Korea Professional Football League (K League). Under an exclusive global rights agreement, Sportradar helped protect the league’s commercial rights and provided specialized intelligence services to combat illegal data use and streaming.
To ensure that K League’s intellectual property and media assets are protected worldwide, Sportradar uses its technological expertise to improve broadcast quality to drive fans to official platforms and also deploy investigative tools to track and prevent illegal streaming of K League’s matches. As a result, the number of illegal streaming cases detected has dropped by 48% over the last three years.
These services are vital in a world where technological change is constant, and piracy tactics are increasingly more sophisticated. Enforcement is complicated by a fragmented legal and regulatory landscape, especially with the cross-border nature of data distribution and web services. Sportradar works with partners in various jurisdictions to navigate these complexities, ensuring rights holders can take meaningful action.
The importance of rights protection goes beyond enforcement. At stake is the value of the rights themselves. If content is easily pirated or data misused, companies that rely on official rights, including broadcasters, betting operators, media companies, online streaming service and sponsors have little incentive to invest in official partnerships, weakening a vital revenue stream for sports federations. That revenue often gets reinvested in grassroots programs, infrastructure, and talent development.
By granting Sportradar the rights to distribute their data and audio-visual content, sports federations can rely on the company to safeguard their intellectual property, audiovisual content, and revenue streams.
“In the ever-evolving sports landscape, protecting rights is no longer optional. It is essential. Federations now more than ever, need partners who can help develop robust and future-ready strategies to safeguard data, content, and revenue streams in an increasingly complex technological and digital environment” concluded Santelli.