
Spotlight on women's sport and Olympic expectations: What to expect in 2025 By George Bevir
Friday, January 10, 2025 - 09:52
Print This Story
From landmark tournaments in women's sport, to new formats, Olympic expectations and international expansion by US leagues, 2025 is set to deliver another big year of sport. SVG Europe looks at what's new and some of the potential highlights.
2025 is poised to be a landmark year for women's sport, with major football, rugby union and cricket tournaments taking place this year.
The Women's Euro 2025 (2-27 July) kicks off in July in Switzerland and expectations will be high that the tournament can build on the success of the Women's World Cup 2023 and Euro 2022, both of which set new records for viewing and attendance.
The tournament will take place against a backdrop of growing domestic audiences, with average attendances across the top four women's European football leagues up by 24% in 2023-24, and with the added incentive of a bigger prize fund of 41m more than double what was on offer in 2022.
And with the EBU describing its media rights deal with UEFA as unprecedented in terms of broadcast reach, organisers will be confident of bumper viewing figures.
A month later, the world's top women's rugby union nations will meet in England for the Rugby World Cup 2025 (22 August 27 September).
More than 220,000 tickets have already been sold for the event, meaning it is already guaranteed to be the best-attended women's edition ever.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has spoken of the tournament being a massive moment for the women's game and his desire to secure free to air deals for maximum visibility (in August last year, the BBC was announced as the UK's exclusive provider of live coverage of the tournament across linear channels, with every match also available to watch live on BBC iPlayer and the Sport website and app).
And one month later, the 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup (Sept - Oct) will take place in India.
Olympic expectations
On 6 February, the one-year countdown to Milano Cortina 2026 (6 - 22 February 2025) will begin. And, with it being an odd-numbered year, there will be plenty of world championships in many summer sports - including the World Athletics Championships (13-21 September) in Tokyo plus Olympic qualifying events in winter sports scheduled for later in 2025.
Register SVG Europe's Winter Sports Forum, Oslo (13 March)
The Olympic flame's journey will begin on 26 November in Olympia, Greece, where the lighting of the flame will take place before it arrives in Rome on 4 December.
There will be some screen-based Olympic action this year, with the first Olympic Esports Games (dates TBC) to take place in Riyadh in 2025 after the International Olympics Committee agreed a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia.
US sport in Europe
US sports have long looked for growth outside North America by hosting exhibition and regular season fixtures in Europe, with the NFL leading the charge. There were five international NFL games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons but this year, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated international regular season games.
The NFL will play its first regular season game in Berlin, Germany in 2025. That's in addition to a commitment to playing two regular season games in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one game in Madrid at the Santiago Bernab u Stadium. Other games and locations are yet to be confirmed.
Read more Inside the NFL's international strategy and broadcast plans for the growth of its future European fan base
The NHL will continue expanding its international footprint after playing a preseason game in Germany, two regular-season games in the Czech Republic and two regular-season games in Finland during the 2024 season.
The 2025/26 schedule, which is typically released around late June/early July could include fixtures in the UK, Germany and Switzerland after NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke of a desire to return to London and of Germany and Switzerland being prime candidates for regular-season games in the future.
Last year, MLB's World Tour took in London for a Mets v Phillies tie, plus fixtures in Mexico City, Seoul and Santo Domingo. However, there won't be any MLB in Europe this year; plans for a regular-season game at Stade de France in Paris in 2025 were cancelled after MLB reportedly failed to find a promoter. International efforts will instead focus on Japan, with the 2025 season set to begin at the Tokyo Dome in March. The MLB has committed to a return to London in June 2026.
And the NBA returns to Paris later this month (23 and 25 January), this time for two matches between the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers.
New formats
Earlier this week (7 January), TGL, the new team golf league founded by Tiger Woods' and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Sports, teed off for the first time. Sky has struck a two-year partnership with TGL to air live coverage in the UK and Ireland, DACH and Italy.
UK and US versions of six-a-side football format Baller League will launch in 2025. Led by footballers Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski, Baller League launched in Germany in 2023. The UK version will begin on 3 March and will take place every Monday until 19 May.
And the expanded FIFA Club World Cup (15 June - 13 July) will take place in the US during the summer, with DAZN confirmed as the exclusive global broadcaster of the competition potentially sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks.
Formula 1 celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and it will mark the occasion by hosting a season launch event for the first time. Taking place at the O2 in London on 18 February, it will feature all 10 teams and their 20 drivers and will be streamed live.
And electr
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Wowza will return to NAB Show 2026 with a set of live demonstrations focused on how video infrastructure is evolving for a new generation of AI-powered and oper...
14/04/2026
Stegawave Debuts Real-Time Forensic Watermarking to Tackle Piracy in Live Sports...
14/04/2026
Living in Boston: A Guide for Incoming Boston Conservatory Students From navigating the T to balancing school with professional gigs, a current student shar...
14/04/2026
Just What Is Genre These Days, Anyway? Understanding the business and art of genre-bending in 2026.
April 10, 2026
By
Bryan Parys
Illustration by Jack Fla...
14/04/2026
Lenora Helm Hammonds Is Turning Passion Into Plan A The dean of the Professional Education Division has seen the industry from all sides. Now shes bringing it...
14/04/2026
How Michelle Zalabak Found Her Dream Career in Music and Finance The Warner Music Group deal analysis manager helps determine what artist catalogs are worth a...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2026 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-ti...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and U...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
13/04/2026
Telos Alliance has announced that J nger Audio has joined the EBU ADM Implementers Group (ADM-IG) as a founding member. The group is focused on advancing ADM an...
13/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate its Alliance Partner ecosystem at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C2408, Central Hall, April 19-22), showing AMPP integrations across live pr...
13/04/2026
Media Links will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2033), demonstrating IP transport solutions for live production including hitless protection technology, Xscen...
13/04/2026
NBC Sports has announced a programming, distribution, and sales partnership with...
13/04/2026
FloSports has promoted Chief Operating Officer Jayar Donlan to President, effective immediately. In his new role, Donlan will lead the company's commercial,...
13/04/2026
PanCam Pictures, the documentary production company founded by Paul Camarata, us...
13/04/2026
Mimir will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (North Hall, Booth N2850), demonstrating its cloud-native media production platform with new capabilities including Mimir Cu...
13/04/2026
BBright has announced that its IP Gateway now supports the Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) protocol. The addition will be introduced at NAB Show 2026 ...
13/04/2026
Net Insight has been awarded a development project through the European Space Agency's Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP), with co-funding f...
13/04/2026
intoPIX will exhibit at NAB Show 2026, marking the company's 20th anniversary. The company will demonstrate its JPEG XS compression portfolio and IPMX-appro...
13/04/2026
Starting from scratch, the team built an in-house content platform comprising ga...
13/04/2026
Here's a look at some of the new products and updates, along with audio-centric conferences, that attendees will find next week at the show
When the 2026 N...
13/04/2026
Avid will launch new integrated newsroom capabilities for Avid for News at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2226, April 18-22), demonstrating how Avid Content Core connect...
13/04/2026
Synamedia has announced a new version of Quortex PowerVu, an IP-native, software...
13/04/2026
Mediaproxy has developed a suite of AI-powered tools for brand and advertisement tracking, integrated into its LogServer compliance logging and analysis platfor...
13/04/2026
Disguise will demonstrate its media servers and software at NAB Show 2026, appearing across five partner booths in Central Hall: MRMC, B&H, Planar, CarbonBlack,...
13/04/2026
OpenDrives is introducing OpenDrives Edge at NAB Show 2026, a hybrid cloud-edge performance accelerator for distributed video and rich media workflows. The prod...
13/04/2026
The show will deploy 18 cameras across two sets and the draft floor, including a...
13/04/2026
Intuitive EQ plug-in gets an upgrade
Following its official launch back in February 2026, Musik Hack's intuitive EQ plug-in has been treated to its firs...
13/04/2026
Flagship soft synth collection expanded
The latest version of UVI's flagship vintage-inspired soft synth collection has just arrived, expanding the suit...
13/04/2026
Free version of innovative string library arrives
Released in October 2025, Lux Orchestral Strings was said to be Sonuscore's most ambitious library to ...
13/04/2026
The Girls' Research Camp is part of the Technology - Future in Bavaria edu...
13/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz transforms submarine communications for real time underwater dom...
13/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz enables Pulsar signal simulation to support next-generation navi...
13/04/2026
L3Harris is accelerating the development of infrared payloads for Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer, to help meet urgent national defense ...
13/04/2026
By leveraging cutting-edge unfilmed Gen III image intensifier technology, NOVA delivers unmatched clarity, range, and reliability in low-light environments - en...