After a 2020 filled with cancellations, postponements and rebates, this year has seen the global media rights industry begin recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic.

The global value of sports media rights – $52.1bn in 2021 – has risen by about $7.2bn since last year, an increase of just under 16 per cent on last year’s Covid affected total. It is also about $1.1bn more than 2019’s total of $50.9bn, underlining the industry’s resurgence.

The sports industry’s recovery from a year blighted by Covid-19 is evident across this year’s Global Media Report. Last year’s renegotiations and rebates have been washed away by waves of new long-term deals, though the recovery has not been uniform across all territories and sports.

As ever, this report breaks down the global market by sport, property and territory. However, unlike last year, the report will not take rebates into account for current or future years.

• Learn how the sports media rights industry has recovered after a year blighted by Covid-19.
• See which key territories and sports have stood out for not recovering.
• Find out the value and percentage growth of the top 10 most valuable sports.
• Discover which properties continue to chase the NFL – the most-valuable sports property globally – and how much of total media rights revenue they each account for.
• Understand which are the most valuable sports markets, their year-on-year value change, and the factors that affect this.
• Learn which major market is predicted to decline in coming year, despite hitting an all-time high value this year.