Live sports is becoming a bigger part of streaming advertising, but reaching fans is no longer enough. As sports rights migrate to streaming platforms and advertisers gain access to new formats, brands are under pressure to demonstrate that their investments are influencing consumers, not simply generating impressions.

For Amazon, that means expanding its sports portfolio, attracting advertisers that traditionally haven't invested in sports, and developing ad experiences that complement the action rather than interrupt it.

Bringing new audiences to sports advertisers

Amazon's investment in live sports is giving advertisers access to audiences they may not reach through traditional broadcasts. Since Amazon secured exclusive "Thursday Night Football" (TNF) rights in 2022, its sports audience has grown younger and pulled away from traditional TV viewers.

Amazon's TNF audience is 7 years younger than the broader NFL audience, while its NBA audience is 8 years younger, according to Amazon Ads’ head of US live sports sales Billy Davis, who spoke at last week’s Advertising Week New York (AWNY).

Amazon's sports viewers also deliver incremental reach. About 20% of its TNF viewers don't watch Sunday Night Football, while 21% of its NBA viewers don't watch NBA games on ESPN, per Davis.

The company's Black Friday NFL game provides another example.

"Twenty-five percent of our audience who watched [last year’s Black Friday] game had never watched a TNF game before," said Davis. "And 30% of that audience didn't watch Thanksgiving football the day before."

For advertisers, those differences make streaming sports more than another way to reach existing fans.

Expanding beyond traditional commercials

Amazon is also broadening what advertisers can buy within live sports.

"I feel like the definition of sponsorship has changed over the last several years, and there's a spectrum to what a sponsorship can mean," Davis said.

Traditional presenting sponsorships remain valuable, but smaller interactive opportunities now matter more.

"Last week's TNF game had 41 advertisers utilizing interactive video ads," said Davis.

Amazon is also experimenting with integrations that make advertising part of the viewing experience.

During NASCAR coverage, Amazon used AI to create a sponsored fuel-tracking graphic showing drivers' fuel levels. Red Bull sponsored the feature, which provided information to viewers while delivering brand exposure.

"Our team has done a really nice job, whether it's within the NBA and having FanDuel's bet tracking there, which is advertorial, but it's really an enhancement for the customer," Davis said.

Sports investment is becoming more fragmented

As sports viewing spreads across streaming platforms, advertisers face a more complicated investment landscape.

Exclusive streaming sports draw $2.6 billion in advertising spending, about 13% of the sports advertising spending MediaRadar tracks across linear and streaming, according to MediaRadar’s vice president of product management Jay Nielsen, who spoke at AWNY.

That fragmentation is changing how brands evaluate sports investments.

"The actual ad units themselves, the physical signage in the venue, the now broadcast overlays that are starting to show up digitally on the courts, on the fields, on the pitches," Nielsen said, describing the opportunities advertisers need to evaluate together.

Different sports also require different investment strategies. NFL games offer numerous commercial breaks, while soccer relies more heavily on stadium signage and other integrations.

For Amazon, expanding across sports creates opportunities for advertisers to connect with fans throughout the year.

"We've gone from a day of the week to a [persistent] destination for live sports," Davis said.

Measurement will determine who wins

As sports advertising grows more expensive and complex, demonstrating outcomes is becoming essential.

"Anyone can spend money to be in a certain place, but that doesn't mean you own the moment," said Kerel Cooper, CMO at Marketcast. "To me, owning the moment means how do you make people feel? Do they remember your brand once the event is over? And have you moved your audience to do something?"

That distinction is particularly important for brands entering established sports properties.

Amazon has brought 80 new brands into TNF, 33 into its NBA coverage, and 54 brands new to Amazon through live sports, according to Davis.

Those advertisers need more than exposure. They need to understand whether their creative, targeting, and sponsorship investments produce measurable results.

"From the ad sales side, I think that measurement will be at the forefront of every single initial sales conversation," Davis said.

Cooper expects a similar shift in how brands evaluate their investments.

"My prediction or hope is that it's less about asking the question, ‘How many people did we reach?’ and more about asking the question, ‘Did we move people with our campaign?’”

For sports advertisers, the next competitive advantage will come less from securing the biggest event than from creating the most relevant experience and proving that it worked.

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