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ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

State of the Industry: Navigating the Seismic
Shift in Sports Advertising

The State of the Industry: Navigating the Seismic Shift in Sports Advertising explores how exclusive streaming rights and evolving viewer habits are transforming the way fans engage with sports and entertainment. MediaRadar’s Jay Nielsen, VP of Product, unpacks the latest data and trends shaping how advertisers connect with audiences in this new era. Attendees will discover the challenges, opportunities, and strategies brands can use to stay competitive as the sports advertising landscape rapidly evolves.

PRESENTED BY
Jay Nielsen

VP, Product

Jay is the VP, Product at MediaRadar, where he draws on extensive experience in product management, retail media, and B2B SaaS. He has led global teams at Criteo and Nielsen, building innovative solutions that streamline media buying and help brands and agencies drive measurable results.

HOSTED BY
Karisa Schroeder

Director, Product Marketing

Karisa is the Director of Product Marketing at MediaRadar, where she leads go-to-market strategies to launch and scale new products and solutions. With expertise in marketing intelligence, data marketplaces, DaaS, and AI-powered insights, she helps brands and agencies deliver connected customer experiences, focusing on creative, competitive, and sports advertising intelligence to drive measurable growth.

PRESENTED BY
Jay Nielsen

VP, Product

Jay is the VP, Product at MediaRadar, where he draws on extensive experience in product management, retail media, and B2B SaaS. He has led global teams at Criteo and Nielsen, building innovative solutions that streamline media buying and help brands and agencies drive measurable results.

HOSTED BY
Karisa Schroeder

Director, Product Marketing

Karisa is the Director of Product Marketing at MediaRadar, where she leads go-to-market strategies to launch and scale new products and solutions. With expertise in marketing intelligence, data marketplaces, DaaS, and AI-powered insights, she helps brands and agencies deliver connected customer experiences, focusing on creative, competitive, and sports advertising intelligence to drive measurable growth.

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DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION

State of the Industry: Navigating the Seismic Shift in Sports Advertising

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Webinar Q&A

Is the shift to live sports streaming driven more by audience reach or better targeting?

Both, but targeting is the key advantage. Streaming sports preserves scale while allowing advertisers greater control over frequency, creative rotation, and demographic overlap. MediaRadar quantifies these capabilities across publishers to help advertisers optimize their media mix.

Are all age groups increasing their streaming adoption, particularly adults 55+?

Streaming generally attracts younger audiences and higher-income households, but adoption is not exclusive to these demographics. Older audiences are also participating in the streaming ecosystem.

Is OTT still a relevant term?

The industry is increasingly moving toward CTV as a broader and more relevant term for discussing streaming television and its advertising opportunities.

Does MediaRadar provide local or regional streaming insights?

Yes. MediaRadar tracks advertising data and insights at the Designated Market Area (DMA) and hyper-regional levels.

As Regional Sports Networks increasingly expand into streaming, these capabilities will help advertisers better understand regional audience opportunities and competitive activity.

Are Regional Sports Networks moving toward FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) models?

Yes. FAST represents an emerging strategy for RSNs seeking to expand audience accessibility and reach.

Examples such as the Dallas Stars' broadcasts on Victory+ demonstrate how teams and regional networks can use free, ad-supported streaming to make live sports more widely available.

Does MediaRadar cover simulcast events and regional sports broadcasts?

MediaRadar is expanding coverage of Regional Sports Networks and simulcast events. Combined with existing CTV coverage, these additions are intended to provide a more comprehensive view of live sports advertising across distribution channels.

Does MediaRadar track NHL advertising and other sports beyond the major leagues?

Yes. MediaRadar covers key live sports beyond the largest professional leagues, including the NHL, NCAA, and college football.

The NHL has also expanded its international streaming presence through a multiyear agreement with DAZN, providing access to its global audience of approximately 120 million viewers.

How can non-endemic publishers participate in the streaming sports advertising ecosystem?

Non-endemic publishers can participate when their audiences align with sports fans.

The opportunity depends less on whether a publisher traditionally specializes in sports and more on its ability to attract and engage relevant sports audiences.

Which metrics are most useful when comparing linear TV and CTV advertising performance?

Start with deduplicated reach and effective frequency, then incorporate additional metrics such as ad pod position, completion rates, and creative rotation.

MediaRadar adds competitive context through category-level spending and share-of-voice analysis. This helps advertisers distinguish between performance driven by effective strategy and results driven primarily by higher spending.

What types of advertisements perform best during live sports streaming, and how is performance measured?

Short, benefit-driven advertisements with early branding and clear calls to action tend to perform well across variable ad pods.

MediaRadar's creative-level benchmarking indicates that utility-focused messages and time-sensitive offers often outperform purely emotional advertisements in live streaming environments.

To evaluate performance, advertisers should consider multiple metrics, including:

  • Deduplicated reach
  • Frequency control
  • Cost-per-outcome proxies by platform
  • Competitive and category-level advertising activity

MediaRadar combines these insights to help brands determine whether they are achieving more efficient reach rather than simply generating additional impressions.

How does MediaRadar capture and analyze live streaming sports advertising?

MediaRadar uses a multistep methodology to capture, classify, and analyze advertising activity across live streaming environments.

  1. Event capture: Proprietary technology tracks live sporting events across diverse streaming environments.
  2. Ad processing: Captured events are processed through MediaRadar's proprietary DeepListen technology.
  3. Classification: Advertisements are classified through MediaRadar's brand identity framework, connecting creative assets and advertising spend to specific brands and products.
  4. Quality assurance: Data undergoes QA before being integrated into MediaRadar's Live Streaming Sports dashboard.

Does MediaRadar capture national advertising activity?

Yes. MediaRadar captures national advertising narratives, including platform-specific creative variations and shorter versions adapted for different streaming environments.

COMING March 19th

State of the Industry: Video Everywhere—Winning in the New Era of CTV

CTV is rapidly converging with linear, digital video, and social, and this webinar will break down the latest ad spend, category momentum, and go-to-market shifts.

Notify Me: Video Everywhere Webinar


About the Series

Each session in our State of the Industry Webinar Series highlights key market shifts—such as evolving ad budgets, emerging and declining media channels, and changing brand strategies—while offering data-driven insights into the forces shaping the future of advertising. From the rise of video and streaming to the transformation of sports viewership and beyond, this series helps industry leaders navigate change with clarity and confidence.