The news: Sports ad costs are climbing, as baseball ad CPMs alone grew 40% YoY in September, per new Guideline data cited by MediaPost.
High demand for live sports and escalating media rights fees are driving sports ad costs higher across leagues.
- Live sports are a main draw for advertisers. Nearly half of the US population will view live sports this year, per our forecast, while sports accounted for nearly 30% of total US converged TV ad-supported viewing in Q4 2025, according to Nielsen.
- US sports rights spending will reach $32.8 billion this year, per S&P Global Market Intelligence, nearly double the amount spent a decade ago. That growth is particularly pronounced in leagues like the NFL, which reportedly sought a 50% rate increase from CBS earlier this year.