The news: Sports was one of the highest-value environments for advertisers seeking concentrated audiences in Q2, partially driven by major cyclical events, according to our industry KPI data provided by Qortex.

• Sports view-through rates (VTRs), defined as the percentage of measured video ad impressions resulting in a completed video view, jumped nearly 24 points QoQ to 96.90% between Q1 and Q2 2026.
• That moved sports from the second lowest category for VTRs to the second highest, only behind arts and entertainment. Among the categories measured, only shopping saw stronger gains than sports, growing 35.8 points.

The timing: The surge in sports VTRs coincided with an unusually packed sports calendar, which helped concentrate viewer attention across major events.

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the largest in history with 48 teams; the final between Argentina and Spain broke viewership records, delivering a combined average audience of 62.8 million US viewers—making it the most-watched soccer match in US history.
• Q2 also benefitted from the NBA Finals, which was the most-watched series in 28 years. Companies like Disney saw ad inventory for the tournament sell out entirely ahead of Game 2, while national TV ad revenues across Disney’s platforms hit $82.2 million in just the first three games, per iSpot.tv—highlighting the strong advertiser demand that major sporting events can attract.

That strong calendar likely helped concentrate viewer attention around sporting events and drive higher VTRs.

Recommendations for marketers: Sharp VTR gains reinforce the value of live sporting events as an attention channel, but marketers need to look beyond a single ad placement to get the most from that engagement. Planning ahead for premium inventory and extending campaigns across complementary channels can help brands reach fans throughout the sports viewing experience.

• Plan early for premium inventory. Events like the Super Bowl, World Cup, and Olympics sell out months in advance; marketers hoping to run campaigns during event windows should plan ahead of time to secure the best ad space before scarcity drives up prices and limits options.
• Extend investment beyond in-game ads. These placements can be highly impactful, but marketers should make an effort to reach fans before, during, and after the game through alternative channels like highlight clips, podcasts, billboards, and social media to consistently reach sports fans.

Go deeper: Want more video view-through rate data? PRO+ subscribers have access to Industry KPIs, our collection of more than 400 benchmarks in marketing and retail and ecommerce across a range of industries and countries. Click here for more information.