In an industry shaped by fragmentation and fierce competition for attention, sports remain the rare unifying force. They bring people together across age groups, screens, and formats -- and offer something increasingly hard for advertisers to find: a large, live, engaged audience. Looking back on 2024, it’s clear that sports advertising is evolving alongside its audiences.
With 85% of sports fans preferring to watch live sports on TV rather than in person,1 it’s unsurprising that sports accounted for 96% of the most watched non-political programs in 2024.2 Sports offer a wealth of opportunities for advertisers. Tentpole sporting events, national leagues, and niche tournaments -- both men’s and women’s -- all play a valuable and complementary role in boosting campaign reach.
For advertisers and agencies recalibrating their video strategies, that means thinking about sports not as a silo, but as a system that can flex across screens, audiences, and objectives.
Sports delivers real attention in a distracted world
In a sea of skippable, scrollable content, sports stand apart for their attention-holding power. Ads during live sports are 10% more likely to be watched in full than the average ad, and more than half of all live sports ads are viewed by groups of two or more people.3
Sports fans also can be highly social. Research found that they're 73% more likely to watch games in groups of three or more, particularly during high-stakes moments like playoffs and championship games.1 The social group settings in which fans watch sports have the power to magnify the value of every ad shown, delivering a large impact per impression.
While streaming gains speed, don’t overlook traditional TV
In 2024, sports generated 350 million streaming ad impressions just across Comcast households.4 Streaming helps advertisers connect with younger and harder-to-reach audiences, especially as more live sports content becomes available on FAST and ad-supported platforms.
But despite the growth of streaming, traditional TV is still a go-to for many fans. Last year, 11% more households were reached by cable sports versus streaming only,5 reflecting a continued preference for the big-screen, cable-like experience. That said, sports events are increasingly moving to streaming channels, providing more options for both viewers and advertisers.
Look beyond the marquee matchups
Tentpole events present premier opportunities for advertisers looking to reach audiences at scale in real-time. In fact, 98% of Americans plan to watch at least one major sporting event like March Madness or the NBA finals in the next year.5 But advertisers who only focus on marquee moments miss the long tail of opportunity.
Niche sports, or sports outside the Big Four (NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL), offer advertisers more affordable alternatives to reach large audiences. Over a quarter of total sports impressions come from outside the Big Four, with leagues like the WNBA, NCAA, and professional golf driving incremental reach.6 Women's sports in particular are gaining momentum: time spent with women's sports rose 42% YoY,7 and fans are 45% more likely to pay attention to full WNBA games than NBA games.8
For advertisers, these are crucial performance signals. In a campaign analysis of sports viewers, WNBA fans who see an ad featured during a game are 1.8x more likely to visit that brand’s website than other sports fans.9 These viewers are engaged with the sport on screen, but also the brands that show up alongside it.
Sports is a winning strategy
As they continue to dominate across screens, sports have evolved into a strategy in their own right. They offer flexibility across platforms, proven reach across demographics, and unique moments of undivided attention.
As each media dollar is more and more scrutinized, sports advertising provides something increasingly rare: confidence that your message will be seen by a valuable audience that is paying attention.
For more on how sports dominated screens last year, check out the 2024 Sports Replay.
Sources:
1. Comcast Advertising Survey. N=1000. April 2024. Qualifying Criteria: Watched sports content (game, highlights, talk show, etc…) in the past six months who were satisfied with the current experience of watching live sports through TV coverage.
2. ComscoreTV National Program Ranker Report. January – December 2024. Live + 7. All genres excluding political.
3. TVision Program Analysis Time Period Report. Live + SD on linear only. January – December 2024.
4. Comcast Aggregated Ad Exposure data from Comcast Advertising streaming campaigns across all DMAs. January - December 2024.
5. Comcast Aggregated National Sports Viewership data based on households reached by NBA. Household viewership of Individual sports compared to NBA. January - December 2023.
6. Comcast Aggregated Sports Ad Exposure data. January - December 2024. The ‘Big Four’ sports are MLB, NBA, NFL & NHL.
7. Comcast Aggregated Viewership Data. January - December 2024 vs. January - December 2023.
8. TVision Panel. P18+. January - December 2024. Attention to duration = Indicates how likely viewers are to pay attention to the total duration of the content. 100 is the benchmark based on the combined Linear and CTV average.
9. Nielsen Insights, What’s Next for Women’s Sports: Fueling Growth by Proving Value, 2024.
This article was written by Laura Brandano-Lauta, Vice President, Market Retail, Large Agency & SMB Sales at Comcast Advertising
Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.
Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friends.
The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.