How to Build a Live Sports Media Plan Around the Full Fan Experience
Few events still draw fans to the screen in real time the way live sports do. At the beginning of 2026, EMARKETER forecasted that 164.7 million people in the US, nearly half the population, would watch live sports during the year, and the Super Bowl alone regularly draws more than 100 million US viewers. That reach is exactly what makes the best media inventory so hard to get.
Premium in-game inventory for tentpole events — moments with high simultaneous viewership numbers — often sells out months in advance through upfront relationships, leaving little room for newer advertisers. As a result, many mid-market brands skip the events in their media plans.
A more realistic option is to build brand presence around “the big game.” Programmatic access to live inventory and shoulder content, like the podcasts, pregame and postgame shows, highlights, and creator clips that surround the game, helps brands reach sports fans where they’re already watching and listening. Shoulder content in particular reaches the most engaged fans throughout the season, often at a lower cost per thousand impressions (CPM).
This approach offers a path to a live sports presence without committing a large share of the annual budget to a single buy. Here’s how to build a plan that works across live and shoulder content and prove its value.
Target engaged fans across the season
A traditional broadcast buy reaches both the viewer who tunes in for the championship and the fan who has followed the team since preseason, treating them the same. That may work for reach, but there’s an engagement gap to consider.
Live inventory delivers concentrated reach in the moment itself. Shoulder content keeps brands in front of the most engaged fans between games. For media teams that do land an in-broadcast buy, shoulder content extends that presence well beyond a single airing.
YouTube’s NFL trends report illustrates how much of that engagement happens outside the broadcast. Annual global NFL-related views on the platform grew more than 250% from 2020 to 2025. And according to a SmithGeiger study cited in the report, 56% of Gen Z sports fans (14- to 24-year-olds) in the US watch or engage with sports commentary or analysis from creators or other fans at least weekly.
Using demand-side platforms (DSPs), brands can reach fans before and during the live game and re-engage them as they move to highlights and behind-the-scenes content afterward. Much of that shoulder content is available programmatically, though brands still have to buy some podcast and creator placements directly.
Find the right buying options
Programmatic buys let marketers apply audience signals to bidding for premium live connected TV (CTV) inventory, focusing spend on the fans they most want to reach. Each live sports media buying option offers a different balance of certainty and flexibility.
Programmatic guaranteed deals
Locking in a fixed CPM and guaranteed delivery can help brands develop a presence around a specific game or event. Some platforms let them forecast and reserve that inventory directly, rather than negotiating with a publisher. Because guaranteed inventory for high-demand leagues like the NFL is often limited, programmatic guaranteed deals tend to work best for regular-season matchups, early playoff rounds, and other secondary events. Brands that book well in advance will have the most options. Once the buyer accepts the deal, though, they’re committed to it.
Curated marketplace packages
Some DSP marketplaces bundle live sports and sports-adjacent inventory from publishers and CTV providers into packages that buyers can assign to line items and start spending against right away. Because these packages are biddable, budget stays available to shift toward the placements that perform.
Launch-ready deals and FAST platforms
Supply-side platforms and media partners also offer pre-negotiated sports deals. And free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms carry a growing volume of highlights, analysis, and studio programming. Both options are quick to activate, though quality varies more by source.
Ask partners the right questions
Because capabilities vary by platform, a conversation with a DSP rep or agency partner is the most practical way to see what’s possible. Buyers can ask which live sports packages are already on the platform and whether any are planned around upcoming tentpole events.
Be sure to ask which partners build custom deals, whether out-of-market league packages are available, which podcast and creator placements can be bought programmatically, and how frequency capping works across devices and third-party CTV buys. Household-level capping, where available, can prevent ad fatigue and extend budget to new audiences.
Build measurement in before launch
Before launching a live sports campaign, brands need to define the business outcome they want to prove, such as new customer acquisition. Incrementality testing offers the clearest way to show whether live sports spend delivered that outcome, and the arc of a tentpole campaign suits it well. Spend climbs ahead of the event and tapers once it ends, which offers a useful comparison, and pairing the spend-up window with a geographic or audience holdout makes the read more reliable.
Because retrofitting a test after launch is far more difficult, teams should confirm up front that the campaign has the budget volume and design to produce a dependable result.
Some DSPs offer cross-device conversion reporting that marketers can use to show how CTV impressions connect to purchases on phones and laptops. It provides visibility into return on investment (ROI), while the incrementality test shows whether the spend drove lift. Together, they offer a more comprehensive view of campaign impact.
Refine the media strategy with each event
Because biddable budgets can move mid-flight, each tentpole event becomes a chance for brands to learn what works. Super Bowl LXI in February, March Madness, the NBA playoffs, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in summer 2027 all offer opportunities to put this approach into practice.
Testing different buying options and comparing live and shoulder performance at each event allows teams to zero in on the most effective media mix as the year goes on. For brands that have spent years on the sidelines, that kind of tested, measurable plan offers a real way into the game.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Adswerve. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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