Who Owns the Highlight?

Most people now experience sport as a highlight — a vertical clip, muted, with a caption that was written by someone who does not work for the league.

That shift moved power. Rights holders bought the game; the internet distributes the moment. Players build audiences on clips they do not own. Independent editors reach more people than broadcast panels. Leagues alternate between takedown notices and quiet gratitude.

The next decade of sports media will be decided by how that value is split. If athletes and the creators who build their myths get a share, coverage gets richer. If not, we get the same thirty seconds, licensed forever, and no new voices telling us what it meant.