By Damian Garbaccio, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, Affinity Solutions
2025 has made one thing clear: live sports are not just surviving in the streaming era—they’re dominating it. With NFL and NBA broadcasts hitting record-breaking viewership and streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, Peacock, and ESPN+ reshaping how fans tune in, advertisers are facing a rare moment of optimal convergence—where audience reach spans more channels than ever, fan engagement is at an all-time high, and streaming unlocks powerful ways to activate fans in real time.
Investing in live sports seems obvious—if you can afford the ticket. But even the biggest stages must justify their value. If 2025 underscored the undeniable power and cultural gravity of sports, 2026 will be the year advertisers demand more —more evidence that it works, more real-time data to optimize investments, and more paths to growth through emerging sports and untapped fanbases.
Co-viewing converts. But only if you can prove it.
Live sports remain one of the few media experiences that consistently deliver massive, engaged audiences. New bundled services, expanded rights deals, and smarter measurement tools are transforming live sports into a dynamic, data-rich environment for brand storytelling – and impact. The NFL, in particular, not only continues to dominate viewership, it also drives co-viewing behavior that leads to real-time commerce.
A recent Horowitz Research study found that 51% of NFL viewers shop for merchandise while watching games, with engagement even higher among multicultural audiences. The second screen—whether a phone or tablet—has become a gateway to real-time commerce, social interaction, and impulse buying. For advertisers, NFL broadcasts represent a rare chance to deliver real ROI—but only if they can tap into real-time purchase data to prove true sales impact.
Get in the game!
With streaming comes smarter data and smarter advertising. The convergence of first-party and third-party data across platforms, devices, and purchase channels enables advertisers to move beyond impressions and toward a real understanding of consumer behavior. Connected TV (CTV) platforms now support attribution models that link ad exposure to outcomes like mobile searches, website visits, and purchases.
Through integrations with Affinity Solutions and others, Streaming giants like Disney and Netflix are leading the charge with solutions that simplify measurement and enable advertisers to link ad exposure to purchase-based outcomes—ushering in a new era of precision advertising.
The evolution from fragmented metrics to outcome-based measurement, sets the stage for a new era in sports advertising. As advertisers demand agility and precision, the ability to optimize campaigns mid-flight is no longer optional; it’s essential. Live sports offer fleeting, high-impact moments and advertisers must respond dynamically to maximize relevance and returns.
Fansactions™ bridges the gap between exposure and action, driving higher ROAS and reducing media waste. Using our solution, EDO uncovered that the biggest games don’t always deliver the biggest returns—and challenger brands like Sonic can outperform giants like McDonald’s through smarter, leaner strategies. When real purchases are connected to real ad exposure, the truth becomes clear: precision beats scale, and investing in the right moments outperforms spending more.
Next season’s playbook: Personalization and interactivity
Advertisers are rapidly experimenting with emerging formats that can carry a high price tag —from shoppable ads, QR codes, and gamified experiences to social integrations and influencer-led companion content—designed to spark real-time interaction during the game. New approaches like altcasts (alternative broadcasts featuring gaming overlays or cultural commentary) are creating micro-communities of fans and opening new avenues for targeted engagement, especially with Gen Z audiences who increasingly watch alongside creators.
At Advertising Week, Drew Panayiotou, CMO of Keurig Dr Pepper, captured the challenge:
“The main thing has gotten more expensive… but then we can’t ignore the digital platforms where that engagement is happening with Gen Z, because they’re the ones buying our products,” Panayiotou said. “It’s a complicated web.”
These innovations are driving sports media costs higher. But brands can’t afford to sit out. That’s why real ROI measurement isn’t optional—it’s the new table stakes.
Winning the moment with strategy and data
Live sports are more than entertainment—they are cultural touchpoints that command attention, emotion, and action. To justify the high cost of entry, advertisers can’t just aim for reach—they must know with certainty that they can quantify the incremental return on their investment. By harnessing real-time data, optimizing creative mid-game, and measuring outcomes beyond impressions, brands can stop chasing eyeballs and start winning hearts and wallets. The goal isn’t just to show up—it’s to score, convert, and build a fanbase that sticks season after season.
