Behind the scenes of global tournaments: technological race that won’t be shown live
When the opening whistle blows in stadiums across the United States, Canada, and Mexico in June 2026, the audience will span a significant part of the planet – the world’s largest international football tournament consistently holds the title of the most-watched sports event in the world. Cameras will capture goals, tears, and bursts of emotion. However, off-screen, another tournament will unfold, one that is invisible, technological, and commercial. It is this competition that determines how much the right to broadcast something is worth, to whom it should be shown, and how to turn viewer attention into measurable revenue.
For affiliate managers and igaming professionals, understanding this infrastructure is not merely a theoretical exercise. It is a roadmap to opportunities that explains why major sports events are among the most competitive and profitable periods of the year. Let’s take a look at the four key levels of this system.
Data is the new broadcasting rights
A decade ago, the main asset of big tournaments was broadcast rights. Today, data rights stand alongside them, and in some respects, even above them.
A modern football match at this scale generates tens of millions of data points in real time. Every player is tracked in three-dimensional space. A smart ball equipped with integrated sensors captures trajectories, speed, and points of contact. Wearable devices record players’ physiological metrics. All of this creates a live digital model of the game, available for real-time processing.
Such data is not a byproduct of tournaments, but rather a standalone commercial asset. Large providers of official statistics obtain rights from tournament organisers to collect and distribute match-related data, so-called betting data rights, and streaming data rights. They then resell these rights to bookmakers, media platforms, analytics services, and product teams. The value of these rights has increased exponentially in recent years.
In the betting industry, data quality and speed are a direct competitive advantage. The platform that receives event data first can open live markets faster, calculate odds more accurately, and retain active users for longer. Data delay has become a technical metric that directly impacts margins. Data is no longer just infrastructure – it has become a product.
Second screen has become the primary one
Television has always been the official media for big tournaments. But today, it serves merely as a background screen, a way to bring the event into the home. The real interaction with the tournaments takes place on another device.
According to industry research on audience behaviour at major sports events, more than 82% of fans use mobile apps while watching a game. They read statistics, check line-ups, follow commentary, engage in predictions, and place bets – all at the same time, without taking their eyes off the main content. The second screen is no longer just a supplement to the TV; it’s now the primary interface for engaging with tournaments.
The difference between television and a digital platform is fundamental: TV is one-way communication, while a platform is two-way engagement. Tournament organisers release an official app featuring real-time statistics, interactive formats, and personalised content. The users are no longer “spectators”; they are “participants.” The platform creates multiple touchpoints before the match, during it, and after the final whistle.
It is precisely this second screen that makes the entire subsequent monetisation chain possible. While the user consumes content on one device, interaction, engagement, and commercial scenarios unfold on another. Control over attention is shifting from television to those who know how to engage mobile audiences in real time.
Engagement has become the currency
In the traditional media model, reach was the key currency: the larger the audience, the more valuable the advertising inventory. In the digital ecosystem of big tournaments, this logic is outdated. Here, engagement has become the new currency – measurable, segmentable, and monetisable.
Platforms no longer count views, but they count actions: clicks, conversions, session duration, repeat visits, and depth of interaction with content. A user who opens an app, checks stats, places a prediction, and returns after a goal is fundamentally more valuable than someone who simply turns on a broadcast and leaves.
It is where the content creator economy truly demonstrates its power. Tournament organisers officially integrated TikTok into the event’s media strategy, providing content creators with accreditation and exclusive materials in exchange for a massive volume of posts. A year earlier, DAZN tested this model at major club tournaments, attracting around 50 creators and gaining over 500,000 new users on the platform. TikTok reports that 90% of users who view sports content in the app take at least one action outside the app, such as visiting a website, downloading an app, or signing up.
Engagement is convertible. And those who know how to generate and measure it control the real economics of the tournaments, not only their image.
Betting is now part of the entertainment ecosystem
For a long time, betting was viewed as a separate industry, running parallel to sports. The 2026 main football tournament will finally cement a different reality: betting is an integral part of the entertainment ecosystem, without which the picture is incomplete.
Betting platforms operate in real time, integrate live data, and deliver the highest level of engagement among all available ways to interact with a match. Betting on the current score, the next corner, or a yellow card isn’t just a transaction, but an effective mechanism that transforms a passive spectator into an active participant each minute of the match. Every moment of the game takes on an extra dimension – a personal stake, interest, and outcome.
Platforms like 1xBet build their products around the following logic: live interaction, rapid analytics, and personalised user experiences – all within a single system. On such a platform, tournaments don’t last just 90 minutes; they run 24/7 through pre-match content, live events, post-match analytics, and personalised offers.
Affiliate models form a distinct layer of this ecosystem. It is precisely why the 1xPartners affiliate programme exists – it enables media outlets, content creators, and platform owners to integrate into this economy by engaging with an already engaged audience. During major tournaments, users are active, open to engagement, and just a step away from conversion. It is where the affiliate infrastructure demonstrates its true value: not in promo posts, but in well-structured touchpoints at every stage of the journey, from the initial search for match information to the first deposit.
Monetisation: money isn’t in one place – it’s everywhere
Monetising big tournaments is not a single market, but a set of parallel ones, each with its own players, barriers to entry, and revenue horizon.
At the top level are the organisers and rights holders: they monetise broadcast rights, official data, and sponsorship packages. It’s a market with high barriers to entry and long-term contracts. At the middle level are platforms and media companies: they monetise traffic through advertising, subscriptions, and user data. Here, streaming services, apps, and social networks compete – each vying for the time and attention of the very same user.
The affiliate model operates at the third level, and this is precisely where the ratio of entry barriers to potential revenue is most attractive. You don’t need to be a rights holder; it’s enough to work with an audience already engaged by the tournaments themselves. During big sports events, users are active, motivated, and open to taking action, and conversion rates are typically significantly higher than the baseline. The affiliate’s task is to capitalise on this moment with the right offer at the right point in the user journey.
From an event to an ecosystem
The main football tournament of summer 2026 will be the largest in history in terms of the number of matches and its geographical reach. Yet, its true scale will be measured not only by goals and victories, but by the number of technological layers activated around each game.
Over the past few years, data has become an independent commercial asset. The second screen is now the primary space for interacting with tournaments, and engagement has become a metric that we’ve learnt how to not only measure but also directly convert into revenue. In this system, betting is no longer a peripheral activity; it is embedded at the centre of the entertainment ecosystem as a key driver of engagement.
For those operating in the igaming and affiliate industries, the practical takeaway is clear: the audience of major tournaments is already engaged, active, and deep in the funnel. The question is no longer whether demand exists – it does, and it is predictable. The real question is how well your infrastructure is set up to capture that demand.
