The 2026 Sport Management Symposium convened media executives, conference leaders and content creators to discuss how streaming platforms, advertising models and shifting audience habits are transforming sports media.
Live sports may be the last true mass audience in media – and the future of how fans watch them is rapidly changing. That was the focus of the 2026 Sport Management Symposium, where award-winning sports writer and broadcaster Seth Davis headlined a conversation about the evolving business of live sports.
Held Feb. 25, in Turner Theatre, the annual symposium explored how live sports continue to adjust across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms – and what those changes mean for leagues, networks and fans. Davis joined the symposium virtually after a blizzard in the Northeast disrupted his broadcast schedule.
Photos of the symposium are available on the school’s Flickr account.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Assistant Professor Bill Squadron, Davis offered students an unfiltered look at how disruption – from digital media to NIL to legalized sports betting – is transforming the industry.
Davis reflected on two major inflection points that transformed sports media during his career: the rise of the internet and the advent of the iPhone and social media. He described how legacy media companies were slow to adapt to digital distribution models, fundamentally altering the economics of journalism. Yet despite rapid technological change – and the emergence of artificial intelligence – Davis emphasized that the fundamentals of storytelling endure.
“There is still an appetite, particularly in the world of sports, for compelling programming and good storytelling,” he said.
He also addressed the growing challenge of misinformation and AI-generated content, noting that journalism has never been more important as audiences navigate an increasingly fragmented information ecosystem.
Turning to college athletics, Davis described the NIL and transfer portal era as a “mass disruption,” shaped by long-standing legal vulnerabilities in the NCAA model. He discussed how expanded athlete compensation and annual free agency have made programs more transactional, complicating roster stability and culture-building while also increasing athletes’ earning power and freedom.
Davis also addressed the normalization of legalized sports betting and its impact on media coverage. Once referenced subtly during broadcasts, betting lines and odds are now openly discussed, creating new revenue streams while raising new ethical and regulatory questions for leagues and media companies alike.
Throughout the conversation, Davis returned to a central theme for students preparing to enter the industry: adaptability matters, but strong reporting is essential. In a media landscape crowded with podcasts and commentary, he urged aspiring professionals to focus on credibility and expertise.
“Become a good reporter, become an expert, develop your sources, develop your traction in the space, and you got a chance to stand out and move forward,” Davis said.
The symposium continued with two expert panels that examined the industry from league, network and technology perspectives.
The first panel, “League TV Rights Strategy in a Shifting Media Landscape,” featured Tyler McBride of the Atlantic Coast Conference, sports media consultant John Kosner and Sports Business Journal reporter Austin Karp. The discussion centered on the delicate balance leagues must strike between revenue and reach as traditional cable subscriptions decline and streaming platforms multiply.
The panelists emphasized that media rights negotiations are no longer solely about dollars. Exposure, demographic reach and production quality now play critical roles in determining the right partner.
Framing live sports as the industry’s last true mass audience driver, Kosner made the stakes clear: “You can’t be in the advertising business going forward, if you’re not big in sports,” he said.
The group also examined the growing influence of technology companies in the sports rights marketplace. While legacy networks once relied heavily on subscriber bundles, streaming platforms operate under different economic models, with advertising and global scale driving long-term strategy. Panelists noted that must-have properties – such as the NFL, NBA and major college football – continue to command escalating fees, while mid-tier and regional properties face growing pressure in an increasingly selective marketplace.
The second panel, “Tech Companies, Streaming and Sports Content,” shifted the focus to distribution, content creation and the changing nature of sports media careers. Media executive and journalist Michele Steele, former Amazon Prime Video sports strategy executive Michael Morris and Elon alumnus Alex Day ’16 shared perspectives from traditional broadcast, streaming and digital-first content environments.
Panelists explored how streaming platforms and social media have lowered barriers to entry while simultaneously increasing competition. Steele described the ongoing shift away from linear television, noting that sports remain one of the few forms of content that consistently drive live audiences. Morris provided insight into how tech companies evaluate sports rights as part of broader entertainment and advertising strategies.
Day, a rising voice in New York sports media, offered a firsthand account of building a career at the intersection of social media, brand partnerships and live sports coverage, explaining that content creators are increasingly operating as independent media brands.
“There’s not a great barrier to entry right now, so you have to come up with some creative ideas to do it a little bit differently, get people engaged,” Day said, encouraging students to differentiate themselves in a crowded digital landscape.