What sports’ shift to streaming means for advertisers

This sponsored article by MNTN will explore CTV and sports.

Article | Nov 19, 2024

The streaming revolution has upended how viewers, studios, and advertisers think of TV. It has also led to a wealth of exciting, original content—today, if you want to be part of pop culture discussions at the water cooler, you need to subscribe to a streaming service (or more accurately, several). This exciting exclusive content has continued to draw in subscribers, boost viewership rates, and get advertisers more exposure.

For years, just one area held out as one of linear TV’s last bastions: live sports entertainment.

Not anymore.

A recent EMARKETER analyst report shows that sports programming is running up the scoreboard on connected TV (CTV)—and they have the stats to prove it. Now the tables have turned; more people are streaming sports programming than watching it on broadcast TV. And that’s shaking up the advertising world.

The future of sports on CTV

By the end of 2024, the US is expected to have 105.3 million digital sports viewers, eclipsing linear TV’s 85.7 million, per EMARKETER’s September 2024 forecast. That’s enough to raise a few eyebrows on its own—as recently as 2022, broadcast TV was still outpacing streaming (97.2 million to 84.0 million, respectively). Last year was the first time that streaming overtook the status quo, and it’ll only get more lopsided from here. By 2027, EMARKETER forecasts that 127.4 million US viewers will stream sports—a noticeable gain over the 75.4 million expected to still be watching via broadcast.

But perhaps most staggering, it’s not like sports has suddenly become more popular. In fact, the overall sports-watching population has fluctuated less than a percentage point over the last six years (46.9% in 2018 to 47.6% in 2024), and it isn’t expected to grow any time soon, per EMARKETER.

Instead, it’s the way people access sports that’s changed. Cord-cutting has continued to climb, unraveling the traditional TV bundle and pressuring sports rights-holders to follow audiences to streaming. Now, at a time when media companies are pulling back on other content spending, they’re spending more on sports. The reasoning? Sports viewership is predictable—and produces a big return.

More wins for advertisers

It’s not just sports viewership having a big moment on CTV—women’s sports has had a banner year, too. New sports leagues launched for women’s volleyball, hockey, and soccer. Viewership has soared, and revenues generated by women’s sports will be up 300% over 2021 levels, according to Deloitte.

Now brands are noticing and putting more money in, with women’s sports breaking out of broader sports packages and becoming their own line items on upfront deals. Meanwhile, sports gambling has become mainstream, and gambling brands have become some of the biggest advertisers in sports.