Amid the accelerated transition from linear TV to streaming, ESPN ended its last fiscal year with revenues of US$4.9 billion, an increase of 1% compared to the previous period. The result released in January is accompanied by its D2C, the aggregation of the company’s 12 linear channels into a single application launched last August.
The next step would be to attack intelligent experience fragmentation, a historical bottleneck that dates back to experience customization.
Since the end of November, the network has been feeding the beta product SportsCenter for Youa long-standing goal that depended on solving two problems: technology and scale. As reported by the Sports Business Journalhaving the largest repository of sports content in the world was not enough. Massive personalization only became viable when ESPN began leveraging artificial intelligence and scaling the in-house video production of its 162 editors and writers.
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This is the turning point pointed out by Daniel Shichman. For him, personalization continues to be treated incorrectly by many rights holders, as if it were a peripheral resource. Shichman is the founder and CEO of WSC Sports, a partner in the ESPN Edge Innovation Center, and the company chosen to make the project possible.
In an interview with SBJ, Joshua Barbarotta, senior director of digital video at ESPN, defined the WSC solution as a “godsend”. And what miracle is WSC working?
WSC’s solution applies AI to automate the creation of highlights and short clips extracted from interviews, press conferences and studio programs. ESPN, which already worked with the company on more than 20 sports, expanded the pipeline to include a dozen NCAA Olympic sports, processing about 16,000 game feeds annually.
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WSC data shows that more than 50% of cancellations on sports services are linked to poor personalization experiences. For him, this is a business model problem, not a content problem.
WSC Sports positions itself as a global leader in AI sports content technology. It serves leagues, broadcasters and platforms such as NBA, NFL, NHL, FIBA, ESPN, Amazon, Discovery, FOX, as well as Brazilian players such as NBB, Globo, LiveMode, Canal GOAT and the São Paulo Football Federation.
The company’s thesis aligns with: the rise of vertical video does not just overturn a format standard, but reallocates attention and value, challenging the very definition of media.
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“We’re at the center of how content moves from live moment to fan. Automation is the foundation, but the real value is helping partners build scalable content operations that no human team could manage manually.”
In this exclusive interview with the column, Shichman argues that content is no longer born just in the live moment, but starts to circulate immediately through the feed, where the fan already is.
Attention emigrated from the channel
An in-depth study by McKinsey, published at the end of January, maps the impact of AI on audiovisual production in a sector already under pressure. In the US, daily hours on linear TV fell at a CAGR of 4% between 2022 and 2024.
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In the same period, streaming grew 13% and social video platforms grew 14%. Audiences migrate to mobile devices and increasingly use TV to consume online content, including user-generated content.
The fragmented scenario puts pressure on traditional distribution models. Consumption is dispersed, available time shrinks and the center of attention shifts to algorithmic feeds. For WSC, content generated by fans and creators is no longer peripheral and has become a primary function.
In November, the company produced branded content with Sports Pundit highlighting the broadcast of the NFL’s São Paulo Game on YouTube. The text pointed out that the league’s “Creator of the Week” program had already surpassed 160 million impressions, with more than 50 million views and engagement higher than that of some of the NFL’s own official channels.
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In the same month, during the Madrid Huddle, WSC presented the Fan Engagement Study 2025/26, showing how Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X discover, consume and value sport in different ways. The common denominator is the feed.
Why Brazil matters
The choice of São Paulo Game as an example was not accidental. For Shichman, Brazil presents characteristics that do not appear with the same intensity in other markets. Audiences move faster culturally, digitally and socially. The combination of short format, creators and live consumption is more advanced.
The Brazilian fan is young, mobile-first and responds best to local content driven by personalities. According to WSC data, when personalized clips are delivered within two minutes of a play, sessions are 20% to 30% longer.
The renewal of the partnership with NBB in November reinforces this appeal. According to Shichman, the entity seeks the same power as the NBA or LaLiga: telling its story in real time, in all formats and platforms. To scale the ambition, he mentions that LaLiga produces more than 260 thousand clips per season. “It changes brand familiarity and global perception.”
WSC data indicates that 67% of fans expect highlights during the game and that personalization is the main driver of loyalty. More than half have already canceled or changed services because they considered the feed irrelevant. To protect the value of rights, you need to operate content pipelines in real time.
Shichman defines this turn as transforming moments in the feed into relationships of their own.
The new distribution map determined by the breeder
Recently, the number of Globo and CazéTV football sponsors in 2026, driven by the anticipation of the Brasileirão and the maturation of the multiplatform model. CazéTV will show 11 brands this season. Globo reached at least 16 advertisers, anchored by the strength of GE TV.
The packages reflect a fragmented inventory between open TV, paid channels, streaming and digital platforms. For Shichman, Brazil is one of the first markets where creators operate at the same level as broadcasters. Not as a threat, but as an expansion.
Creators began to perform functions that previously belonged exclusively to TV. This forces rights holders to rethink scope, relevance and control. There is more competition for attention, but also more avenues to activate value.
In December, the sports conversation focused on the first classic between GE TV and CazéTV in the broadcast of Flamengo x Cruz Azul. The real-time audience map made by GE TV recorded a clear victory, with a difference of 1.2 million.
At the time, I debated how the episode is a perfect portrait of today’s disconnect: the majority audience is still on linear TV, but attention and conversation have moved to digital, especially YouTube. You need to be where the public goes, even if they haven’t completely left yet.
I asked Shichman about what WSC has learned from this newest rivalry between digital platforms in Brazil led by the two main players. He cited three points: authenticity trumps production, creators understand the feed better than broadcasters and rights holders need to operate at the same speed.
In the end, Shichman left a message for Brazilian leagues that still treat digital as an extension of broadcasting:
“Stop thinking about formats and start thinking about habits. Fans don’t wait for broadcast. Their entry point is the feed, but your goal is to bring them into your app, your data, your ecosystem. The leagues that understand this will maximize the value of their rights and unlock entirely new revenue streams. Those that move first will redefine what local dominance and global relevance can look like.”
