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How Shorts, Reels, and Stories are Changing the Way Sports Fans Consume Content in MENA

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Entertainment as we know it is changing. And changing fast. Screens once dominated by full-length broadcasts have transformed into rapid-fire feeds of reels, shorts, and stories.

Entertainment as we know it is changing. And changing fast. Screens once dominated by full-length broadcasts have transformed into rapid-fire feeds of reels, shorts, and stories.

To help sports rights holders keep up with fans’ unquenchable thirst for content, WSC Sports developed the industry’s leading platform for creating innovative AI-tailored content experiences that help organizations deepen the connection with their fans. To get a better understanding of the latest content trends, we analyzed data from over 550 of the world’s leading sports rights owners that use our platform.

According to the data, the average length of videos created by sports rights holders on the WSC Sports platform has decreased by 24% year over year to an average of 1:11 minutes. In the MENA region, the average video length is just 1:05–-almost a 10% difference compared to the rest of the world.

Even websites and streaming apps traditionally associated with long-form video are being affected by this shift. YouTube Shorts, for instance, now account for over 20% of all videos uploaded to the platform. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Stories across have conditioned fans to expect fast, punchy, highly engaging content—especially in sports, where every second can feel like a highlight.

Impact on the Sports Industry

For sports rights holders it’s a signal to adapt quickly, if you haven’t already. Long-form content will always have its place, especially for live broadcasts and deep storytelling. But the window to capture fan attention before and after the game is narrowing.

And here’s the catch: a lot of organizations are investing millions—sometimes hundreds of millions—just to secure the rights to live sports. Maximizing the value of that investment means extending the life of each broadcast as long as possible. That’s where short-form content comes in.

By slicing key moments into dynamic, bite-sized videos optimized for social, mobile, and on-demand platforms, teams, leagues, and broadcasters can get exponentially more return on the rights they’ve acquired—especially in a region with one of the highest average screen times. In Saudi Arabia and Egypt for example, the typical smartphone owner spends 4 ½ hours per day on their phone. That’s more than a half hour longer than the global average.

When it comes to vertical content—that could be anything from a 4:5 post on Instagram to 9:16 reels and stories—organizations from the MENA region are also outpacing their global counterparts by creating 13% more vertical videos on average. In total, the majority of videos created by WSC Sports’ clients—an astounding 67%—were in a vertical format.

If short-form consumption continues to rise—and there’s every reason to believe it will—organizations that don’t recalibrate their content strategy risk falling behind in the race for relevance and reach.

What Rights Holders Are Doing—And What They Need to Do

To keep up, many organizations have ramped up their short-form production, and even hired dedicated teams to manage everything “content”. From finally saying yes to opening that TikTok account, to adapting to new content formats like shorts and stories, the push is clearly there. But creating this volume of content quickly, accurately, and at scale remains a challenge—and only one piece of the puzzle.

To engage today’s evolving audiences, broadcasters and rights holders must begin operating more like digital entertainment platforms by blending innovation, content, culture, and personalization to connect with different fans.That means providing experiences they’ve come to expect, like an app filled with the type of videos already being created for social. An app should also be home to anything you’d find on an organization’s website including tickets, news, standings, and upcoming events—the key differentiator here: you own and access user data in your app, something that you miss when only publishing to social media platforms.

Sound like a lot? That’s because it is. Traditional production and post-production workflows weren’t built for this kind of pace. And while some teams might have the manpower to produce content in real and near time, it’s often reactive, inconsistent, and difficult to maintain—especially across multiple platforms, formats, and audience segments.

AI-Automation is No Longer a ‘Nice to Have’

Just like every other industry, sports organizations will need to adopt the latest AI tools to stay in the game and keep their brands competitive. WSC Sports helps rights holders meet fans where they are—with automated, personalized video content that’s ready for every screen, every moment, and every platform. Our AI-powered platform takes live broadcast streams and transforms them into short-form videos, built for the way fans consume content.

Who’s Doing it Best?

We’ve seen firsthand how our global client base is leveraging the WSC Sports platform to not only meet the demand for short-form—but to lead it.

  • The NBA: produces hundreds of real-time, personalized highlight packages per night, delivered to the NBA app, social accounts, and more
  • NASCAR: delivers real-time highlights to its Timeline Feed in the NASCAR app so fans can follow along with zero delay
  • Bayern Munich Basketball: creates scores of videos for social media and their mobile app—including in new content formats like stories.

These organizations aren’t just increasing brand reach—they’re winning more engagement with content. And the success has been measurable.

Download the Full Report

 The data is pretty clear: short-form is getting shorter, and it’s only gaining momentum. As platforms shift and fan behavior evolves, rights holders need to stay ahead—not scramble to catch up.

At WSC Sports, we’re helping organizations take control of the moment. Let’s make sure your fans never miss a second—even when seconds are all they’ve got. Download the report and learn about the 5 latest trends in sports content.





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Texas hosts Wisconsin with Final Four berth on the line

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21 minutes ago

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December 14, 2025

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In the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns (26-3) face the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers (27-4) in an Elite Eight matchup at Gregory Gymnasium on Sunday, a rematch of the sweep by the Longhorns in the 2025 Opening Spike Classic This is the second time that the two top ten powerhouses have faced each other this season with the No. 1 seed Longhorns sweeping the No. 3 seed Badgers 2025 Opening Spike Classic in Madison.

The early-season win by Texas capped a successful weekend in Wisconsin following a sweep of then-No. 12 Creighton and marked the fourth straight win by the Horns over the Badgers, including a 3-1 victory in the 2023 Final Four that launched head coach Jerritt Elliott’s team into the title game where they won a second straight national championship.

That matchup features a balanced attack for Texas as freshman outside hitter Cari Spears notched a team-high 11 kills, fellow freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal added 10 kills, and junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford had nine.

Wisconsin enters Sunday’s match fresh off a victory over No. 2 seed Stanford in the Sweet Sixteen, swinging .420 against the Cardinal for their first top-10 win on the year. Wisconsin leads the nation in kills per set at 15.10, edging Texas at 14.85. Leading the Badgers is outside hitter Mimi Coyer, who enters the match with 543 kills on the year alongside setter Charlie Fuerbringer, who averaged 15.25 assists per set against Stanford. Outside hitter Una Vajagic collected her 10th double-double of the season with 13 kills, 11 digs, and a hitting percentage of .444, while middle blockers Carter Booth and Alicia Andrew also excelled. Booth racked up 14 kills while hitting .700. The Badgers are trying to punch their ticket to the Final Four for the sixth time in program history.

The No. 3 Longhorns hold the edge in their series against the Badgers, 8-4, with a 3-1 record in the postseason The two teams rank in the top-three in hitting percentage, with Wisconsin owning a slight advantage at .326 to Texas .317.

Leading the Longhorns is junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford who is ninth in the country with a 4.78 kills per set average and 10th in the NCAA with 5.35 points per set. Stafford has recorded 11 double-doubles on the season while middle blocker Ayden Ames is just four blocks shy of 200, one kill from 300, and sits fifth in the SEC with a .380 hitting percentage.

Setter Ella Swindle holds the ninth slot in assists per set at 9.01 surpassing 2200 career assists while libero Emma Halter holds the back line down ranking 10th in digs per set with 3.61 and No. 8 on the Texas all-time career digs list with 1,294.

True freshman Cari Spears has recorded 346 kills, averages 3.26 per set and is hitting .294 for the Longhorns with the help of middle blocker Nya Bunton who stands tall at the net with .339 hittiing percentage.

The deep bench for the Horns has been a force for Texas, led senior Whitney Lauenstein, who has stepped up the tournament by hitting .250 against Indiana and .571 against Florida A&M.

First serve is at 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN.



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Texas A&M volleyball vs Nebraska game score: Live updates

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1 hour ago

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December 14, 2025

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Texas A&M opposite hitter Logan Lednicky (9) and outside hitter Taylor Humphrey (11) celebrate a score during the NCAA Division I volleyball playoff game against TCU at Reed Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in College Station, Texas.

Texas A&M opposite hitter Logan Lednicky (9) and outside hitter Taylor Humphrey (11) celebrate a score during the NCAA Division I volleyball playoff game against TCU at Reed Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in College Station, Texas.

Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman

In a season full of heroic feats, Texas A&M volleyball might be facing its greatest challenge yet Sunday.

The Aggies are eyeing a spot in the Final Four for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and standing in their way are the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. A&M (26-4) is in the midst of its best season in over a decade. They won 25 or more games for the first time since 2012, winning 26 for the first time since the 2001 Elite Eight run. They took down a No. 2-ranked Texas team and a handful of other ranked squads this season. And, maybe most importantly, they just pulled a reverse sweep to eliminate Louisville, last year’s national runner-up, in the Sweet 16. 

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RELATED: Recap, highlights as Aggies reverse sweep to upset Louisville

Nebraska, though, presents a higher hurdle. The regional hosts are a perfect 30-0 and haven’t loss a set in exactly a month (UCLA took one during a 3-1 loss Nov. 14 to the Huskers). The Cornhuskers are ranked No. 1 in the country, according to RPI; A&M is 10th and Louisville, the team the Aggies just beat, is ninth.

Can Texas A&M pull off another upset and make it to Kansas City, Mo. for program’s first-ever volleyball Final Four? Stay tuned for live updates:

Elite Eight live updates  

A 5-3 Nebraska run has the fourth set up for grabs.

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Logan Lednicky’s 17th kill of the match put Texas A&M up 19-14, which Nebraska cut to 19-15 on a Rebeka Allick kill and then 19-16 on Bergen Reilly’s service ace. That then became 19-17 on a Kyndal Stowers attack error. And another Stowers attack error made it 19-18 and the Aggies have called their final timeout.

A third straight kill by Logan Lednicky made it a 16-10 lead for Texas A&M, which became a 17-11 lead on an Emily Hellmuth kill, which then led to an 18-12 advantage. A Morgan Perkins attack error made it 18-13, and a kill from Harper Murray made it 18-14.

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Texas A&M has called a timeout.

Texas A&M came out of the Nebraska timeout with a quick point off a Huskers attack error, leading 11-7, but a Taylor Landfair kill stopped a 4-0 Aggies run. But Kyndal Stowers put A&M up 12-8, which Nebraska’s Harper Murray turned into 12-9 on another kill from her.

But a Huskers service error put A&M up 13-9, which Nebraska then cut to 13-10 off an Andi Jackson kill. The Aggies then pushed that lead to 15-10 on a pair of Logan Lednicky kills, and the Huskers have called their final timeout, trailing 15-10 and down 2 sets to 1.

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This fourth set was back-and-forth, but Texas A&M has gained momentum. The Huskers were up 5-2 early, but a 4-1-run for A&M has given the Aggies a 10-7 advantage.

Nebraska, trailing 2-1 in sets, has called a timeout.

Texas A&M and Nebraska are headed to a fourth set.

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The Aggies and Huskers traded points out of the A&M timeout to make it a 21-18 Nebraska lead, which became 22-18 after a Logan Lednicky shot that went wide.  A&M made it 22-19, but Kyndal Stowers’ serve then went long, giving the ball back to Nebraska, which then went up 24-19 after a Lednicky error.

On set point. Emily Hellmuth had a kill to make it a 24-20 score, but Harper Murray gave the Huskers the set with her 16th kill.

A&M’s timeout at 10-5 was a good move. A 4-0 run made it a 10-9 game, which the Huskers extended to 11-9 on a Harper Murray kill. Teraya Sigler’s service ace made it 12-9, but Ifenna Cos-Okpalla stopped the bleeding with a kill.

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But a quick kill from Rebekah Allick and a Virginia Adriano kill made it 14-10. A&M, down to its final challenge, successfully challenged a net infraction that turned it into a 13-11 game which soon became 14-12 after Emily Hellmuth’s ninth kill of the match. The Huskers and Aggies went back and forth from there 16-15 Nebraska, 17-15 Nebraska and then 18-15 Nebraska after a Kyndal Stowers attack error.

But Stowers made up for it with a kill for 18-16, then Tatum Thomas’s service ace made it 18-17.

An Allick kill made it 19-17 and Murray made it 20-17 on her 15th kill.

The Aggies, up 2-0 in sets, have called timeout at 20-17.

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Nebraska, facing a do-or-die situation in the third set, doesn’t look like it will go down easy.

The Huskers have jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the third set after a Harper Murray kill, a Bergen Reilly ace and a Virginia Adriano kill.

A&M has called a timeout, trailing 10-5.

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The Aggies won the first two sets 25-22, 25-22.

Texas A&M is one set away from advancing to the Final Four after shocking No. 1 Nebraska by taking the first two sets in their NCAA regional final in Lincoln, Neb.

After taking a timeout leading 24-22, Logan Lednicky’s kill down the line gave the Aggies the set.

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Through two sets, Emily Hellmuth and Kyndal Stowers each have 10 kills to lead the Aggies. Lednicky has seven. A&M is hitting .292 to Nebraska’s .275 and has eight aces to Nebraska’s three.

Up 24-20, Nebraska won back-to-back points to cut A&M’s lead to 24-22.

The Aggies have called a timeout.

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An Emily Hellmuth kill (her eighth of the match) put Texas A&M up 20-16, which became 21-16 after a Nebraska attack error. The Huskers cut that to 21-17 off a Taylor Landfair kill. Kyndal Stowers’ eighth kill made it 22-17. Nebraska cut it to 22-18, but Stowers made it 23-18. Logan Lednicky made it 24-20.

Nebraska called a timeout trailing 14-11 in the second set, but the break didn’t do the trick. Texas A&M has battled for a 19-15 advantage off kills from Morgan Perkins and Emily Hellmuth, and the Huskers have called another timeout.

The Aggies have eight aces so far. That’s a season high.

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After dropping the first set 25-22, Nebraska opened the second set with an ace, but soon the set followed the first-set storyline: back and forth, with A&M getting the advantage on the longer points but the Huskers faring better up front at the net. 

Taylor Landfair crosscourt shtot made it 11-10 Nebraska, but the Aggies ralled for a 14-11 lead.

The Huskers have called a timeout.

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Texas A&M has made a big statement in this match, shocking Nebraska by taking the first set 25-22.

The Aggies trailed 15-10, then went on a 10-0 scoring run to turn their deficit into a 20-15 lead.

From there, it was back and forth. An Emily Hellmuth service error made it 22-21, and Morgan Perkins’ kill put A&M up 23-21. The Cornhuskers answered to make it 23-22, but Kyndal Stowers’ kill made it 24-22 and then the Aggies won the set on a service ace.

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Hellmuth and Stowers are leading the way early; they both have five kills to lead the team.

It was only the third time Nebraska has dropped the opening set all season.

This information will be filled in once available. 

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This information will be filled in once available. 

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Where: John Cook Arena at Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb.



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Live Discussion Nebraska Volleyball vs Texas A&M

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1 hour ago

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December 14, 2025

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#1 Nebraska vs. #6 Texas A&M

When: Sunday, December 14th at 2 pm CT

Where: Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE

Below is the remaining schedule for the tournament throughout the month of December. Check out the NCAA bracket here.

Third Round Matches
December 11th (# are seeds in the last AVCA Coach’s Poll)
#11 Creighton Defeated #8 Arizona State 3-1
#2 Kentucky Defeated Cal Poly 3-0
#4 Pitt Defeated #17 Minnesota 3-0
#12 Purdue Defeated #7 SMU 3-1

December 12th
#3 Texas Defeated #15 Indiana 3-0
#10 Wisconsin Defeated #5 Stanford 3-1
#6 Texas A&M Defeated #9 Louisville 3-2
#1 Nebraska Defeated #16 Kansas 3-0

Fourth Round Matches
December 13th
#2 Kentucky Defeated #11 Creighton 3-0
#4 Pitt Defeated #12 Purdue 3-1

December 14th
#1 Nebraska vs #6 Texas A&M 2:00 pm CT on ABC
#3 Texas vs #10 Wisconsin 6:30 pm CT ESPN

#1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-0, 20-0 B1G)

Key Wins: Kentucky, Pitt, Wisconsin
Key Losses: None
NCAA Path: LIU 3-0, Kansas State 3-0, #16 Kansas 3-0

#6 Texas A&M Aggies (26-4, 14-1 SEC)

Key Wins: Louisville, Texas, Minnesota
Key Losses: Texas (SEC Tournament), Kentucky, TCU, SMU
NCAA Path: Campbell 3-0, #20 TCU 3-1, #9 Louisville 3-2



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Bulldog Indoor Track and Field Teams Find Success at CSS Opener

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2 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s track and field teams didn’t have to travel far Saturday to compete in the first meet of their season, competing in CSS Opener inside the Burns Wellness Center on the campus of the College of St. Scholastica.

 

The women’s side had eight first place finishers and performers, which included a relay team. Kate Fitzgerald won the 60m race with a time of 7.74, a new PR for the senior. Another PR was run by 60m hurdle champion sophomore Lilian Wanzek, who ran to a 9.09. Wanzek also won the long jump with a distance jumped of 5.52. 

 

Junior 600m runner Emily Bastain earned a first place finish and PR time of 1:38.16, a race in which the Bulldogs took the first five spots, including junior Madi Wodele in second with a PR of 1:38.42. 

 

Other first place finishers on the indoor track included sophomore Avary Fitzpatrick in the 400m (59.54) and junior Ellie Hanowski in the 3000m (10:43.93). The Bulldog 4×400 relay of Wodele, Kuechle won in a 4:09.26

 

In addition to Wanzek’s jump, two other first place spots in field events were scooped up by UMD, including sophomore Sophie Mahnke in the high jump (1.55m), and freshman Ilm’aime Ntambwe in the triple jump (11.28m).

 

24 women earned top-three spots on the podium Saturday.

 

On the men’s side, freshman Nolan Bien ran to a 8.39 in the 60m hurdles to finish on top, while sophomore Austin Kehr posted a 1:22.52 in the 600m. The Bulldogs 4×400 relay of Brady Johnson, R. Olson, Bien and J. Heimkes finished first with a time of 3:28.48.

 

Senior jumper Will Heydt jumped to a PR of 7.04m to best his field, and then recorded a meet and venue record of 14.90 – that doubled as another PR – in the triple jump. Sophomore Noah Rodenwald won the pole vault with a height of 4.40.

 

In all, 16 men’s competitors earned top-three places.





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Nebraska volleyball vs Texas A&M live updates, score and highlights

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2 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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Updated Dec. 14, 2025, 3:39 p.m. CT

The Nebraska volleyball team (33-0) plays in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament after sweeping Kansas on Friday. The Huskers face the Texas A&M Aggies (26-4), who defeated Louisville in a reverse sweep.

Nebraska’s offense ranks first nationally with a .355 hitting percentage. The defense is equally impressive, ranking first nationally in opponent hitting percentage, .121. 

Junior Harper Murray leads the team, averaging 3.47 kills and 2.18 digs per set, and has a team-high 31 aces. Setter Bergen Reilly runs the offense at an elite level with an average of 10.41 assists and 2.70 digs per set. Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.79 kills per set on .486 hitting with 1.16 blocks per set. 





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Nebraska vs. Texas A&M volleyball live: Schedule, scores, highlights

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2 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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Updated Dec. 14, 2025, 4:20 p.m. ET



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