Elite High School Sports Poised to Become Next Lucrative Media Rights Category

Elite High School Sports Poised to Become Next Lucrative Media Rights Category

ESPN kicked off its 2025 High School Football programming slate with a matchup between Mater Dei (California) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) on August 23^rd. The game drew 709,000 P2+ viewers (+180% YoY). 

Yet, despite the strong audience, there isn’t another nationally televised matchup of elite prep football powers (i.e. the schools increasingly churning out top college and pro athletes) scheduled to air on the network again this season. 

SportsCenter Next’s High School Showcase will cover five to seven more games with enhanced highlight packages across social channels.

But viewers drawn to the top scholastic programs competing against one another should find more games on TV in the years ahead (think: season long Game-of-the-Week series). There’s just too much revenue at stake for those teams not to square off more often.

Elite high school sports “is going to be one of the more valuable media rights [categories] and nationally monetized [broadcast] products in the next 10-20 years,” Michael Schreiber (founder and executive chairman, Playfly Sports) said.

A Playfly commissioned study estimated that annual TV and streaming media rights fees could range from $70 million to $135 million, with multimedia sponsorship revenues projected to be an additional $64 million and $84 million.

College sports fans have long subscribed to recruiting sites for the insider access and hope they provide. The athletes committing to come to their favorite school today will be the on-field stars of tomorrow.

But recruitniks and message boards have also largely been the only way for college sports fans to see or learn about those coming to campus in the years ahead. Historically speaking, high school athletics have not been widely distributed.

That is, in part, because the talent was so spread out and few outside of familial circles were interested in watching the resulting mismatches. 

Over the last decade or two though, the landscape has changed. Elite players have begun to gravitate towards select prep programs across the country.

“15 years ago, [the top basketball teams] were State Association or community based,” Rashid Ghazi (president, Paragon Marketing Group) said.

Now, 13 of Top 25 do not even play for a traditional State Association Championship!

The rise of high school sports academies is directly tied to the growth in youth sports.

“Not only is the volume [of sports options available to kids] increasing, but pricing elasticity [has gone] up. [Parents are] invested in their kid’s success,” Schreiber said. “So, what ends up happening is by the time [these young athletes reach the] end of middle school, [many decide they want to] give [the child] the best shot to get a D1 scholarship [and believe sending them] to an elite sports academy [is the surest path].”

Few local or regional high schools can offer comparable 24-hour developmental services (think: training, nutrition).

However, several other tailwinds are supporting the growth in elite H.S. sports academies too. Social media and NIL are inextricably linked on that list.

“More athletes want to play in [an] elite system to better promote themselves, build their [brand], their skills [and revenue earning potential] for the next level,” Ghazi said.

There has also been an increase in top international athletes coming to complete their H.S. studies in the U.S. Their goal is to find a path within the American system–whether that’s leveraging college sports to further their education or to turn pro.

The increasing TAM helps to explain IMG Academy’s $1.25bn valuation. Endeavor sold the one-time tennis academy to a PE firm (BPEA EQT) earlier this year. 

“Sports academies sit at the pinnacle of the high-growth, high demand youth sports pyramid,” Ted Meekma (co-founder of IMG Academy and CEO, TEDMEEKMAconsult) said.

While parents drive much of the increased demand for sports academies, real estate developers are behind the bulk of new supply. 

“What do you do with [a youth sports property] that is empty between 8a-3p? You build an [elite prep school and sports] academy,” Schreiber said.

And then its highest-profile teams can become a marketing vehicle for future enrollment. 

As top talent has converged on a select number of schools, super teams carrying national appeal have emerged. The 2024 Montverde Academy class featured Cooper Flagg, Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen, and Asa Newell. All four hoopers were first round draft picks this past June’s NBA Draft.

Companies like Paragon have been able to get those teams to play one another in EYBL Scholastic matchups (think: regular season high school academy basketball) and Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League tournaments (think: AAU Champions League), in addition to events such as City of Palms Classic and HoopHall Classic. 

But “you’re going to see [much] more consistent programming [in the years ahead] as the elite academies evolve [and are organized],” Ghazi said.

And not just in football and basketball, either.

“If the [elite] basketball teams are all playing one another, you’ll start to see the baseball [and hockey] teams do the same. Other sports are on the same track,” Ghazi said.

Of course, it’s easy to see football and basketball finding a television audience.

Those sports are “already mature enough to be major media plays,” Schreiber said.

The Chipotle Nationals, a championship basketball tournament that airs on ESPN, drew over one million viewers in 2024.

But logic suggests there is likely a market to watch top prepsters compete in some other sports too.

“Just [look at] baseball as an example,” Schreiber said. “The Little League World Series and College World Series are two huge media [properties]. The product in the middle [has not yet been] developed.”

For context, regional rounds of the 2025 LLWS drew an average of 520,000 viewers across ESPN platforms. The 2025 men’s CWS averaged more than 1.21 million viewers throughout the tournament.

High school sports currently command relatively few rights dollars (think: packages under $1mm or oftentimes they simply cover production costs and come with an advertising rev-share).

“But the ratings [can] be higher than a lot of other sports on air,” Schreiber said.

Particularly, emerging or challenger properties.

And the live viewing audience demographics are similar (think: 25-54). 

“That’s why there is this arbitrage moment, why we believe [high school sports] are really [being] under monetized,” Schreiber said.

Just how much media rights revenue is being left uncaptured?

“The Chipotle Nationals should start to garner a significant license fee in the coming years due to the attention of the programs, athletes, and the growth of its audience,” Schreiber said.

The belief is that with the addition of teams and regions it could grow into a $50mm-$100mm property over time.

“We are [still] at the beginning stages of [HS sports] being monetized and promoted the right way,” Schreiber said.

And, of course, that’s just one tournament in a single sport.

“If we can package all these events together, show the throughput of elite athletes [in] them and develop a turnkey distribution model, then the range value will [only] go up,” Schreiber said.

Correction: A previous version of this article cited the Playfly commissioned study had annual media rights fees ranging from $75 million to $150 million, with total MMR revenues projected between $250 million and $300 million.