Live sports and sport fans offer a huge opening for increased volume and new sign-ups.

Its partnership with Major League Baseball will give it mass reach, but real value comes from extending TV moments into digital channels.

67% of top sports podcast shows are for niche sports, where high engagement, loyal fans, and off-season spikes lift ROI.

DUDE Wipes extended the momentum of the Super Bowl with its “Gut Reset" campaign, targeting the day after the big game, when many consumers are dealing with the effects of overindulgence. The brand partnered with Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and former NFL tight end Jake Butt for a social-first activation that playfully addresses digestive health while reinforcing DUDE Wipes’ core product benefit.

Netflix is reshaping CTV economics as sports, live events, podcasts, and a potential WBD acquisition push its ad tier toward 10% of spend, with $3 billion in sight this year.

Live sports boosted cable viewership in January, but streaming’s dominance signals marketers must balance CTV precision with linear scale.

Live football still concentrates attention at scale: Super Bowl LX delivered historic reach across platforms despite a modest YoY decline.

"The Super Bowl has grown from a football game into one of the biggest cultural moments for brands," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian in a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.” The Super Bowl maintains its advertising relevance in an increasingly fragmented media landscape because it delivers something increasingly rare: A massive, diverse audience engaged in a shared cultural moment.

Live sports command major leverage; NBCUniversal is using scale and bundling to defend pricing power as sports rights costs surge and distribution fragments.

Disney is getting an edge with an NFL-ESPN deal that protects it against digital video pressure from rivals like YouTube.

Streaming takes nearly half of TV viewing in a new record, driven by sports and major cultural hits, proving live events still dominate TV.

NFL viewership favors broadcast as traditional TV draws the biggest audiences, but streaming’s ad effectiveness is unmatched.

Super Bowl campaigns aren’t one-size-fits-all; brands are now splitting between full-scale TV buys and multi-channel activations that extend beyond the broadcast.

Fragmented habits define the sports consumer in Canada, where fans juggle platforms, formats, and betting styles. Engagement is high, but attention and spending are spread widely—forcing marketers to compete for moments rather than dominance.

Lululemon athletica’s CEO Calvin McDonald will relinquish his role on January 31, 2026 to an as-yet-unnamed successor. Whoever that person is will face the task of restoring the brand’s authority in a category it once dominated—particularly in North America, where sales have been stagnant or negative for seven straight quarters. Whoever takes the helm at lululemon should look to refocus the brand on its athleisure roots. The company needs to make sure that its core product lines are resonating with consumers before devoting significant resources into other categories like footwear, where it faces a tougher path to building credibility amid entrenched competition.

YouTube TV will offer over 10 new, genre-specific subscription bundles in 2026, with one option focused on sports, per a company announcement. YouTube TV Sports Plan will give users access to major sports networks and broadcasters that the pay TV provider offers, including NBC Sports Network, all ESPN networks and ESPN Unlimited, and FS1. Advertisers who thrive will rely on an omnichannel approach that keeps track of where viewers are watching while simultaneously accounting for the enduring relevance of linear to reach sports audiences.

Magnite launched a Live Scheduler tool on Tuesday, an industry-first asset that enables media owners to seamlessly plan, execute, and evaluate ad campaigns around live events. Live Scheduler turns chaotic, real-time tentpole events into a predictable, scalable, and programmatic marketplace—giving advertisers the opportunity to capitalize on major cultural moments without as much unpredictability.