IMG’s platform power rankings, now in its third year, is our list of the platforms which matter most to our clients and rightsholders across the sports industry.
Multiple criteria contribute to the compilation of this list, including reach, the scale of fan engagement, the resources required to activate and their impact on commercial outcomes, including the potential for direct revenue.
Authors: Iain Liddle, Haihan Luo & Paul Wrona
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YouTube
TikTok
4
5
X
6
7
Spotify
8
9
Snapchat
10
Twitch
11
Substack
12
Threads
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Historically, our list has weighted these criteria more heavily toward North America and Europe. This year, in line with IMG's digital growth in multiple regions, the list has a deliberately more global outlook.
With that in mind, we have added a second list ranking the most important platforms for our clients in China, compiled by our team in Shanghai.
This market is unique and requires a tailored approach to reach and engage sports fans. Our team of on-the-ground experts makes IMG one of the few agencies in the world capable of offering a completely, authentically global service to our clients.
Douyin
Kuaishou
4
RedNote
5
6
Bilibili
One challenge this year has been defining which platforms are eligible for inclusion on this list.
If YouTube, which once again tops our table, is in the running, should other leading streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+, be considered as well?
Similarly, OpenAI’s Sora is too nascent to be considered for inclusion, but what about ChatGPT? That is a platform and underlying technology, which could become integral to the operations of many sports businesses over the next 12 months.
Ultimately, our long list of potential platforms was determined by those on which any content team within the sports industry could easily create an account to market themselves and reach new audiences.
YouTube has evolved beyond that alone, but by almost any definition, we believe it is the most important platform for the sports industry in 2026.
This year, it has also become the world’s largest podcast platform, and its Shorts are now viewed by more than two billion users each month.
The platform also pulled ahead in other areas, and in 2025, it became the most-watched content provider on connected TVs in the US for several months.
YouTube is almost peerless in enabling rightsholders in sport to reach new audiences across a variety of media formats, earn sustainable direct revenue, and access analytics to understand the audience at hand.
Instagram is a worthy second place, and it passed the three billion monthly active users mark for the first time this year. It is influential across the globe, especially in Latin America and the Middle East, where it is arguably the most influential platform.
TikTok completes a top three that emerged clear of the chasing pack, despite uncertainty about its ownership in North America and, by extension, the platform’s future in that region.
By contrast, Facebook is struggling to attract and retain younger users in the US, but its reach cannot be dismissed, and if a rightsholder wants to reach fans in Africa, for example, there are few better options.
Similarly, X has had a problematic 2025 in some respects, but viewed globally, it has actually climbed year-on-year to fifth in our rankings due to reach and relevance in Japan, North America, and Africa, among other regions.
Spotify has broken into the list for the first time at number seven following its pivot to video content in 2025.
This placement is based on the potential we see the platform having for the sports industry, rather than the current reality, given the increasing collaboration and cultural crossover between sports and entertainment.
We saw similar potential in WhatsApp in previous years following the launch of its Channels functionality. However, the Meta-owned service falls to eighth on our list this year for failing to iterate effectively as a fan engagement platform. It has a large user base and a high frequency of use. It remains enticing for sports rightsholders, but its limitations remain a source of frustration.
Snapchat’s enduring popularity and influence in the MENA region means the platform stays in our top ten, which is rounded off by Twitch, given its cultural significance in Spain and South America.