Netflix has struck a global marketing deal with AB InBev spanning programming sponsorships, live events like NFL Christmas Day games and the Women’s World Cup, and even beer packaging featuring Netflix IP. For AB InBev, aligning beer with Netflix viewing occasions connects drinking culture to shared entertainment rituals. More than a sponsorship, the deal positions both brands as co-authors of cultural moments across sports, shows, and global viewing events.

X has updated its NFL Portal for the 2025-26 season as sports discussions gain momentum on the Elon Musk-owned platform, with features aiming to get advertisers reinvested. X’s enhanced NFL Portal is a calculated effort to double down on one of its strongest differentiators to keep users engaged and advertisers invested: Real-time sports conversations.

YouTube’s NFL Brazil broadcast was a massive success, breaking livestream records in the country with over 17.3 million average-minute-audience (AMA) members, including more than one million non-US viewers. YouTube’s record-breaking NFL success proves that, for advertisers, the marketing playbook is moving to platforms where reach, relevance, and results converge.

NFL RedZone will bring ads to the current NFL season, stepping away from its commercial-free roots for the first time. Ads will initially only account for 1 minute of RedZone’s seven hours of content but could expand to 2 minutes during the season, per AP News. With attention shifting to digital live sports and RedZone’s availability on ESPN’s new DTC streaming service, advertisers have the opportunity to tap into broad audiences in a format that is likely to be more tolerable to viewers than traditional TV ads.

The NFL is challenging Nielsen’s ratings accuracy, with chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew telling the Wall Street Journal the firm is “systematically undercounting” millions of viewers. Nielsen countered that its new “Big Data + Panel” product—combining set-top box data with digital signals from 45 million homes—makes this season the most accurate yet. The dispute highlights mounting pressure on Nielsen as streaming reshapes sports viewership. While rivals gain traction, Nielsen remains the dominant measurement firm, but slow integration of first-party data from streaming services leaves major partners like the NFL frustrated. The debate underscores urgency in modernizing TV ratings.

NBCUniversal has sold out all advertising inventory for Super Bowl 60 months earlier than expected, marking record demand for football advertising. Digital sales tied to the game are up 20% YoY as brands invest across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo. Prices held at $7–8 million per 30-second spot, aligning with Fox’s 2024 benchmark. NBCU’s 2026 slate—which also includes the Winter Olympics, NBA All-Star, and FIFA World Cup—positions the company to capture significant share of sports ad budgets. With ROI on Super Bowl ads nearly doubling since 2020 and consumer enthusiasm rising, NBCU’s cross-platform dominance highlights live sports’ unmatched ad pull.

Streameast, the world’s largest illegal sports-streaming hub, has been shut down in a coordinated sting led by Egyptian authorities and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. The operation dismantled more than 80 domains that drew 1.6 billion visits over the past year. The crackdown comes as soccer and NFL seasons begin, underscoring how piracy disrupts rights holders by siphoning revenues from subscriptions and ads. Yet piracy remains resilient: copycats are already emerging to tap fans frustrated with fragmented, costly streaming options. With digital sports viewership surpassing pay TV, the industry faces an urgent challenge to keep audiences in paid ecosystems.

The findings: Banks’ NFL ads did better than other ads on all TV platforms, according to EDO’s NFL TV Outcomes Report. Bank ads that aired during the NFL’s 2024–2025 season programming were 27% more effective than the category average across all broadcast and cable TV platforms, increasing to 47% during the postseason, according to this study. This effectiveness is measured by the ads' ability to drive brand searches and website visits. Our take: Running an ad during an NFL game and featuring a well-known actor or athlete doesn’t come cheap. But if done correctly—leveraging the football platform to tell a compelling, human story—the ROI can make it worthwhile. Financial institutions that haven’t used celebrities or NFL players in their campaigns should consider engaging a third-party agency to make the most of a potential campaign.

Amazon closed its second annual Upfronts with “significant growth” across independent agencies and holding companies, per Adweek. An Amazon spokesperson cited excitement surrounding live sports offerings on Prime Video as a key driver of growth. Amazon is positioned for sustained ad growth if it continues relying on its sports properties to draw advertiser interest in Prime Video. With Prime Video only making up a fraction of Amazon’s overall ad revenues, the service is far from hitting its ceiling—and future investment in tentpole sporting events will put Prime Video on par with its bigger competitors.

The news: As the NFL season approaches and digital video becomes a sports destination, fans are looking to new streaming services to stay caught up—and 35% are planning to subscribe to a new service to watch fall and winter sports, per CivicScience data. Our take: Sports will remain a key opportunity for brands to reach engaged and passionate audiences—but as fragmentation worsens, advertisers must prioritize cross-platform strategies that unlock consistent exposure.

The news: NFL ads are more effective than anything on linear—but ads during streaming-exclusive games outperformed in the 2024-25 season. Streaming ads were 66% more effective than the cable and broadcast average during the most recent NFL season, per data from EDO. Our take: With streaming platforms capturing engaged audiences for tentpole sports like the NFL, advertisers can leverage CTV not just for reach, but for its superior ability to drive measurable action through precision targeting and interactive formats that linear doesn’t offer.

ESPN has launched its long-awaited direct-to-consumer subscription app, consolidating 12 networks and sports rights under one platform. Two tiers—ESPN Select at $11.99/month and ESPN Unlimited at $29.99/month—offer up to 79,000 live events annually, with Unlimited subscribers gaining access to marquee programming like Monday Night Football and NBA games. A Disney+/Hulu bundle is also available for $35.99/month, discounted in year one. Features include multiview, betting tools, live stats, fantasy integrations, and an AI-powered personalized SportsCenter. The move signals an existential reset for ESPN, aiming to convert cable loyalists and younger fans while stabilizing growth in a cord-cutting era.

The news: YouTube has made an official inquiry about purchasing the rights to future Academy Awards ceremonies in its latest live events push, per Bloomberg. The move comes after viewership increased slightly for the most recent Oscars ceremony, driven by simultaneous airing on ABC and Hulu. Our take: Rather than competing head-on with broadcast, YouTube can position itself as a complementary streaming partner that extends the Oscars’ reach by highlighting shifting viewership trends that capture audiences broadcast alone struggles to reach and its edge in premium video advertising.

The news: Netflix is proving its power as the dominant subscription streaming platform with several recent ad wins. The streamer announced that it’s sold all of its available commercial time in preparation for its two Christmas day NFL games, also noting sponsorship deals with partners like Google and FanDuel. Our take: With its strong lead in ad revenue growth, position as the most-used subscription video service in the US, consistently low subscriber churn rate, and content strategy tailored to unique markets, Netflix is likely to continue dominating advertiser investment in connected TV.

The news: The NFL may dominate sports viewership, but brands are also tuning into sports with smaller, but highly engaged, audiences. A Harris Poll report found that 70% of soccer fans are more excited for the World Cup because it will be hosted in North America. Beyond soccer, women’s sports is gaining momentum as a critical ad opportunity. WNBA team deals have increased 52% in two years, per SponsorUnited. Our take: Advertisers looking to reach tuned-in audiences at a lower cost of entry should view sports advertising opportunities like soccer and women’s sports as critical investments, not a last resort.

The news: Disney announced that it will merge Disney+ and Hulu in 2026, a move that could save it $3 billion. The news came after a mixed Q3 FY25 that beat expectations thanks to high spending at Disney theme parks and growth in streaming, but saw advertising revenues fall short of analyst estimates. Our take: Disney’s future success depends on whether merging its core streaming offerings boosts advertiser appeal and a successful sports push that can compete on a similar level as rivals with access to tentpole live events like the Super Bowl.

The news: Disney and the NFL struck a landmark deal late last week that gives the entertainment giant access to a suite of high-profile NFL content in exchange for an undisclosed equity stake in ESPN that is “potentially worth billions,” per The Athletic. Our take: It won’t be long before the lines of power in the sports streaming world are reexamined once more, and the Disney-NFL deal foreshadows that ESPN may get marquee NFL rights next time around. YouTube’s Sunday Ticket contract with the NFL expires in 2030, with Amazon’s Thursday Night Football agreement ending three years later.

The news: Despite a surge in sports advertising and streaming, Walt Disney Co. failed to surpass last year’s upfront volume, citing a result that was “consistent with last year,” per a press release. Streaming accounted for over 40% of the company’s total upfront volume, on par with 2024, while sports advertising commitments across digital and linear were worth around $4 billion. Our take: As live sports viewers remain consistent and audiences increasingly turn to digital, Disney’s future growth depends on how well it can transform its streaming offerings into hubs for live sports.

The news: NBCUniversal is exploring a dedicated sports cable network that would feature content—including NBA games—shown on its Peacock streaming service, per a Wall Street Journal report. Our take: Launching a dedicated sports cable channel could help NBCU open the door to new ad inventory and bolster its cable revenues as traditional TV faces mounting pressure from the streaming transition. Live sports continues to command strong advertiser demand, even as general linear viewership declines.The channel will enable NBCU to better monetize its existing sports rights by repackaging content for cable audiences who might be losing interest in traditional TV.

The news: Netflix and Fox are closing Upfronts on a high note, with ad success driven by live sports and original programming. Netflix anticipates that it will “roughly double” its ad revenues in 2025 from 2024 after a strong second quarter. Our take: Netflix’s and Fox’s success underscores that high-quality, tentpole programming still commands advertiser trust even as broader ad growth slows. Live sports remains a critical touchpoint for advertisers, delivering consistent audience growth and high engagement and attention. Channels that invest in sports—whether streaming or linear—will attract interest.