Rethinking live coverage across the sporting pyramid

Matchday content is a cornerstone of fan engagement, but the quality and consistency of that content still vary dramatically across all tiers of the sporting pyramid. It comes as no surprise then that many clubs now recognise they’re not just teams, but content providers. The real challenge? Starting to operate like one.

At the top rung of the ladder, Tier 1 leagues, clubs, and governing bodies, from the Premier League and the NFL teams to Formula 1, the NBA, and World Rugby, deliver slick, broadcast-level productions. These include full production crews, multi-camera setups, on-screen graphics, live commentary, instant replays, and real-time highlights, all tailored for fans across multiple platforms and formats.

Lower down the pyramid, the picture is often very different. A single locked-off camera in the gantry, patchy streams posted to social media, and little or no commentary are still the norm in many leagues and competitions. Teams and organisations outside the top tier, across a range of sports, are doing their best with limited resources, lean crews, and a fair amount of improvisation.

But here’s the good news…the gap between the top flight and the rest of the sporting pyramid, the clubs and teams that embody the real soul of the game, isn’t as unbridgeable as it once was.

A shift fuelled by pressure…and possibility

Across the sporting landscape, matchday production is still a patchwork, regardless of geography or league positions. Some clubs and leagues are getting by with a single camera and no commentary. Others are stitching together makeshift workflows using entry-level software and free platforms. Then there are some doing nothing at all. If we’re being polite, it can often be a bit scrappy. But make no mistake, it’s evolving. 

The intent is there, with many digital teams increasingly understanding the value of live match day content. But they’re often working with limited budgets, small crews, and a production toolkit that wasn’t really designed to scale. Many are juggling multiple systems to produce, stream, clip, edit and publish – all while trying to keep the quality consistent and the experience smooth for fans. 

And yes, while there are affordable tools available, these often come with trade-offs. They rely on local hardware, offer limited flexibility, and can require a degree of technical know-how that many teams simply don’t have the time or bandwidth to manage. It’s enough to get you live, but not enough to take things to the next level.

Rights limit coverage – but not your creativity

Obviously, we need to address the elephant in the room: Rights restrictions. 

Yes, rights restrictions can be a blocker, particularly when it comes to broadcasting first team matches. It’s a reality many sporting organisations face, and it can make live match production feel off limits. 

But rights don’t have to mean radio silence. There’s a huge opportunity to apply the same production approach, including live streaming, camera switching, commentary, graphics, and real-time publishing, to a whole range of content that is within a club’s control. Think:

• Youth and academy fixtures
• Women’s team matches
• Pre-season / off-season friendlies and training sessions
• Community events and behind-the-scenes access

These formats aren’t just easier to manage from a rights perspective,  they’re also ideal for engaging fans across digital platforms, testing new production workflows, and building confidence in what’s possible.

Even if you can’t stream every match, you can still create broadcast-quality content that puts your club front and centre.

Cloud production: Broadcast-quality production, without broadcast complexity

With digital teams under pressure to do more with less, and fans expecting polished, multi-platform content, matchday production needs to be faster, lighter, and more flexible than ever. The old model of on-site crews, dedicated hardware, and stitched-together software just doesn’t cut it anymore, especially when you’re trying to produce consistent, high-quality content week in, week out.

Today’s fans expect more too! According to a 2025 report by Deloitte, over 70% of sports organizations cited budget limitations and lack of in-house expertise as their biggest barriers to scaling content production. At the same time, fans now expect seamless digital engagement across platforms, with 86% of global sports fans consuming sports content online or via mobile, according to PwC. That’s why more and more clubs are looking to the cloud.

How much does it cost to build a live production studio?

Download our report which explores the cost of building a live production studio for sports clubs, federations and teams, from fully virtual setups to your own broadcast studio, we’ve got you covered!

Learn what it really costs

Traditional models, reliant on expensive hardware, OB vans, and on-site production crews, weren’t designed for this kind of demand. They’re complex, inflexible, and require specialised operators, a setup that simply doesn’t match the needs of modern digital teams. Cloud production removes those barriers. It gives clubs full creative control without the weight of legacy infrastructure, allowing content teams to deliver professional-grade coverage from anywhere.

All the tools you need, built for the modern game

Enter Grabyo, a cloud-native platform built for live production and distribution workflows. The AI and cloud-powered platform can scale from single to multi-camera productions, combined with integrated live clipping, editing, publishing and monetization tools. It really is live production in a box, or in our case, in the cloud. And it’s built with digital teams in mind, ensuring flexible, intuitive, scalable workflows, in a PAYG model, empowering clubs and leagues to produce high-quality live streams that fans now expect.

Unlike legacy systems that demand extensive training and costly investment, Grabyo can be learned in under an hour. It replicates the feel of a traditional gallery setup, minus the complexity, as it is a fully managed service. With an intuitive, browser-based user interface, even lean digital teams can produce content that rivals the pros. Sporting organisations’ have access to live vision mixing, audio mixing, instant replays, graphics and remote commentary, all from a remote environment. 

Audio, often the Achilles’ heel of smaller productions, is no afterthought. Grabyo offers advanced audio mixing and routing options that scale from basic to broadcast-level sophistication to tailor audio output to different audience needs. 

Clubs can add remote commentators to the production. Producers have peace of mind knowing they can remotely select commentator’s audio and video devices, along with troubleshooting information, without relying on the technical capability of remote talent. Commentators themselves can preview various camera sources, and talk to the crew with talkback and local chat features. 

Graphics are just as flexible. With the ability to upload custom html graphics, or use our integrations with providers like Singular.live, Dizplai, Tagboard and Flowics, it makes it easy to give your production a broadcast-quality look.. Whether it’s scorebugs, team sheets, or sponsored overlays, the visual experience can be as polished as the Premier League.

When moments matter, speed and latency is everything. Grabyo enables instant replay and integrated tools for highlights and live clipping in real time, allowing teams to react instantly and share key moments while the match is still live. These clips can then be pushed directly to social channels, engaging fans in the moment.

Distribution is seamless. Clubs can simultaneously live stream to YouTube, Facebook, X, Twitch, club websites, or apps and FAST channels, all in the appropriate aspect ratios for each platform, reaching fans wherever they are, without duplicating effort.

And crucially, monetization is built in. With ad insertions, branded content, and sponsor integration options, clubs can turn their content into a revenue stream, not just a cost center and deliver more value for sponsors, or even create new sponsorship inventory for your commercial teams to sell.

Lastly, Grabyo is partner-agnostic. It fits into existing workflows and plays nicely with a range of tools, making it a smooth addition to your digital stack.

Whether you’re producing a first-team match, academy fixture, or a midweek behind-the-scenes stream, Grabyo gives you everything you need, all in one place, all in the cloud.

Final whistle: The opportunity is now

The technology is here. The expectations from fans are higher than ever. And the content your club creates can now be just as impactful off the pitch, court or green as it is on it.

Gone are the days when polished, multi-camera productions were only achievable with six-figure budgets and dedicated broadcast teams. Today, cloud production platforms like Grabyo have shattered that barrier, making professional-quality live production accessible and affordable to every club, no matter its size, league position, or resources.

With the right approach, clubs across the sporting pyramid can turn live match day coverage, academy games, training sessions, and community events into powerful digital assets, building stronger connections with fans, attracting sponsors, and generating new revenue streams.

The gap is no longer technical. It’s strategic. Sporting organisations that move now, embracing scalable, cloud-native workflows, will set the standard for the future. Those that wait risk being left behind in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.

The playing field is levelling. It’s time to take advantage.

Take a look at our related blogs: