Key Points
- Gracenote has expanded its On Sports solution to help TV platforms boost engagement beyond live games with documentaries, highlights and analysis.
- The updates cover 160-plus leagues globally and unify live games with related sports content in integrated discovery hubs.
- Gracenote said the enhancements support deeper engagement, improved monetization and faster deployment through a single API.
Gracenote, the content and metadata business unit within Nielsen, is expanding its On Sports solution to include information from sports-related programming like highlight shows, documentaries and analysis programs, the company affirmed this week.
The move is intended to help sports fans connect with shoulder programming tied to more than 160 sports leagues and competitions in over 50 countries. The expansion will help streaming platforms, pay TV operators and consumer electronics device makers surface non-live sports programming within their unified hubs, improving their search and discovery tools, Gracenote said.
The updates are designed to reflect changing fan behavior, with viewers engaging with sports content across a wider range of formats and touchpoints. By connecting live games to related and complementary programming, platforms can deepen engagement among existing fans while also creating discovery paths for more casual viewers.
The company is also adding high-quality imagery of games, teams and athletes to enrich user interfaces and support more personalized experiences. Gracenote said the visual enhancements are intended to help services stand out in increasingly competitive sports navigation environments, while also supporting increased advertising opportunities and stronger monetization of content libraries.
The push comes as demand for sports documentaries continues to rise. According to Nielsen’s 2025 Tops of Sports report, U.S. streaming viewership of sports documentaries reached 16.9 million minutes in 2024, up nearly 260 percent from 4.7 million minutes in 2021. At the same time, pre- and post-game programming offering highlights, recaps and analysis has become a critical engagement driver for fans seeking context and community around live events.
The enhanced On Sports solution allows platforms to capitalize on that momentum by positioning themselves as comprehensive destinations for sports experiences rather than simply distributors of live games. Content associated with live broadcasts can serve both to extend viewing sessions and to encourage repeat visits, improving what the company described as “stickiness” across services.
Implementation is designed to be streamlined, with Gracenote delivering sports data and video metadata through a single API. The turnkey approach is aimed at reducing integration complexity while enabling providers to deploy enriched sports discovery features more quickly.
“From casual viewers to passionate fans, consumers are engaging with sports content in every way possible,” Tyler Bell, the Senior Vice President of Product at Gracenote, said in a statement. “Platforms have big opportunities to become go-to sports hubs for these valuable users, and Gracenote is uniquely positioned to help them realize these ambitions.”
Gracenote On Sports supports universal search and dedicated sports hub experiences by supplying live schedules, league and team data and enriched metadata across major properties, including the NFL, NBA, Premier League and Formula 1. The company said the expanded capabilities are intended to help TV providers use sports as a catalyst for engagement, retention and revenue growth across their platforms.
