The USMNT’s 2-0 win against Bolivia was watched by 3.2 million viewers on Fox. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

By Andrew O’Neil, Head of Sport at Vizrt.

Football – or fine, soccer – is rising in popularity in the United States. And there is good reason for that: even with the recent Copa America elimination, the national teams’ victories are prepping up to make the 2026 World Cup co-hosts more tuned in than ever before.

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Not only does the USA women’s football team hold the highest World Cup wins, but the men’s team’s early wins in Copa America – also hosted on American ground – drew strong interest. Fox reported that the 2-0 win against Bolivia was watched by 3.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched English language telecast of a Copa America game in the US.

With the world’s most popular sport increasing its presence in the United States, how can leagues and broadcasters expand on the momentum? The answer might be in the technology they already have.

Digital-first, young and diverse

To put it simply: it’s the kids. Sports Business Journal reports that, in the United States, soccer finds its audience younger and more diverse than other sports. And the younger audience is predominantly consuming content online, as Vizrt’s research revealed that 74% of Gen Z respondents watch sports content from their mobile phones.

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But digital innovation, which engages audiences and drives revenue, doesn’t require insurmountable extra upfront costs. Across the pond, UEFA recently made strategic use of innovative broadcast tools around Champions League match nights and reaped the rewards.

Intending to increase impressions by 20%, UEFA saw a growth that would surpass the initial target by over three times, for a total of 78%. How? By providing a personalized experience. With clips that provide a further look into key moments of the match, UEFA creates a connection with fans that exist beyond the final whistle.

The increase in engagement with UEFA’s social media content makes it clear: leveraging existing broadcast tools to create compelling digital content simply works.

From AI to cloud: create anywhere and anytime

The past few years have been full of conversation about the ways in which cloud and AI are changing the broadcast landscape. With both cloud deployment and automation with AI being adopted by modern sports analysis tools, utilizing their potential for digital channels is simplified. Essentially, if you have the tech, you have the time.

As done by a small team at UEFA, the key to creating analysis clips quickly is to create them easily. Automated features, such as default calibration or using AI to outline players and create high-impact 3D flights, reduce the time taken to put together digitally engaging clips.

If available in the cloud, sports analysis tools take a further step in making analysis easier. Enabling the creation of clips from anywhere, while offering multiple output formats, eliminates the need for extra cost: no significant capital expenditure (CapEx) and hardware maintenance.

No large upfront investments are needed – this flexibility means broadcasters and leagues can scale their operations and adapt to ever-changing needs.

New avenue for revenue

Increased reach and engagement create new opportunities for sponsorships. Analyzing match highlights and player performance, for instance, brings in new visibility for brands. And if a sponsor is happy to appear alongside a Balogun goal, who can blame them?

Similarly, in UEFA’s FedEx Performance Zone, Schär and Bellingham’s moves in a Champions League match brought forth the tactical perspective of the players’ moves in the game – deepening the viewers’ understanding with seamless illustration, amassing over 95k likes on Instagram and 450K views on X (Twitter).

With illustrative and engaging graphics, unpacking key moments increases the content lifespan and brings additional value for sponsorships.

Linear and digital channels: a symbiotic relationship

If done correctly, linear broadcast can benefit from digital devices and social media consumption.

We’ve seen that young and diverse fans are driving the soccer fandom in the United States; and that demographic is consistently online, consuming and engaging with sports content. But this hasn’t driven audiences away from watching the matches themselves: viewership numbers are still growing, and holding the audience’s attention is key for the future of any league or broadcaster.

When looking to invest in the growing fanbase of soccer in North America, large investments aren’t needed: it’s about working smarter. Modern technology has already got us to a place that enables broadcasters to do more with less – and those are the main ingredients of the clips that go viral on social media, and bring young fans in.