Sports has always been one of the most powerful environments for advertising.
Big audiences. High attention. Real-time engagement.
What’s changed is who can actually access it.
For years, sports TV advertising was limited to brands with massive budgets and agency buying power. If you weren’t spending big, you weren’t in the game.
Now, self-serve CTV advertising platforms like Paramount Ads Manager are leveling the playing field making it easy for businesses of any size to buy TV ads online, show up alongside popular sports programming, reach engaged fans, and measure real results, all without the traditional barriers of connected TV advertising.
This is your playbook for how to do it.
Why sports audiences matter more than ever
If you’re looking at streaming TV ads trends, one thing is clear: sports is still consistently delivering attention (and driving action) at scale.
- Nearly 50% of the U.S. population are live sports viewers
- Digital live sports audiences are projected to reach 121.1 million viewers this year (+5.8% YoY)
- 83% of sports fans say TV ads influence their purchase decisions when searching online.
At the same time, behavior is shifting. Fans are streaming highlights, replays, and live events across devices, which means streaming sports advertising and OTT advertising more broadly is becoming a bigger part of how brands reach these audiences.
Take March Madness this year:
- The 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament averaged 10.3M viewers (+9% YoY), the most-watched tournament since 1993
- The Sweet 16 averaged 11.5M viewers (+18% YoY)
- The Duke vs. UConn game reached 13.4M average viewers, peaking at 18.9M
Source: Nielsen Big Data+Panel, Live+SD
And those views were tied directly to performance:
- Ads during March Madness delivered an attention index of 119, meaning they performed 19% better than the TV industry average
- The first weekend alone generated 14.5 billion impressions across 7,326 airings
For advertisers, this is what makes CTV sports advertising so valuable. You’re buying impressions AND attention, at a CPM for streaming ads that’s attainable for any size business.
And Paramount is at the center of it. Paramount+ was the leader in sports programming in Q1, now accounting for 30% of all games, events, and sports show episodes across major SVOD platforms.
When to activate: key sports moments to plan around
One of the biggest advantages of CTV is timing. Our 2026 CTV Guide planning calendar can help you align your campaigns around major sports moments that will be streaming across CBS Sports and Paramount+ like:
- Global soccer games: The UEFA Champions League Final on CBS was the most-watched club soccer match ever on U.S. English-language television, with 3.1M viewers (+51% vs. 2025) (Source: Nielsen; Paramount Internal, 2026) and this year's Serie A season kicks off in August and runs until May 2027
- UFC fight nights: Paramount+ is streaming 350+ hours of live UFC content throughout the year, and the UFC Freedom 250 match reached 17M viewers - becoming the biggest live exclusive event in the platform’s history. (Source: Adobe Analytics)
- Golf majors and seasonal tournaments: This year’s PGA Championship Final Round drove 5.76M viewers (+21% YoY) and peaked at 8M - making it the most-streamed PGA Championship ever on Paramount+ (Source: Nielsen; Paramount Internal, 2026)
- NFL games and recaps: The 2025-26 NFL on CBS season averaged 21M+ viewers, the most-watched regular season ever (Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, Live + SD, 9/4/25 - 1/4/26) and CBS Sports HQ drives 10M+ average monthly unique viewers during NFL season (Source: Paramount O&O Data from Adobe Analytics + Partner Data: Sept 2024-Jan 2025)
When the stakes are highest on the field, attention is highest on the screen. The brands that plan around these moments are the ones that win the season..
How to reach sports audiences with CTV
Sports advertising isn't just about the game itself. The real opportunity spans the full viewing experience.
1. Go beyond the game itself
When a major sports event is on air, audiences are also streaming pre-game and post-game content, highlights and recaps, and sports talk shows and interviews.
That creates more entry points for sports TV advertising without competing for the most expensive slots.
2. Start broad, then refine
One of the biggest advantages of CTV ad networks for sports audience targeting is flexibility. Instead of over-targeting upfront:
- Start with broader sports audiences
- Use performance data to refine down to hyperlocal streaming ads with zip code targeting across all 210 US DMAs and 42,000 zip codes
- Double down on high-performing segments
This helps you maximize reach while still improving efficiency over time the kind of precision that makes CTV a true alternative to legacy local TV advertising.
3. Use premium environments to your advantage
Context matters in advertising. Running ads alongside live sports, sports talk, or related programming naturally aligns your brand with high engagement, shared viewing moments, and trusted content environments. That alignment is a big part of why advertising in sports continues to outperform.
Follow these best practices when running your ads during major sports moments:
- Get to the point quickly. Sports viewers don’t want a slow build.
- Keep messaging simple and bold so it lands mid-game or mid-conversation.
- Use confident, energetic pacing that matches the intensity of the game.
- Run short, punchy brand or offer-focused spots that feel like a “timeout moment”.
4. Measure what actually matters
Modern CTV tools for measuring sports campaign performance like Paramount Ads Manager make CTV attribution simple connecting exposure to outcomes in real time through the Ads Manager Pixel.
With the Paramount Ads Manager Pixel installed on your site, you can connect ad exposure to real outcomes in real time, like:
- Website visits
- Purchases
- Cost per visit
- And more
Get off the bench & into the game
Sports advertising isn’t just for big brands anymore.
Sports advertising isn’t just for big brands anymore. With Paramount Ads Manager’s self-serve CTV ad platform, you can:
- Access premium sports and entertainment inventory across Paramount+, CBS, CBS Sports, PlutoTV, and more
- Launch campaigns quickly through our self-serve advertising platform live in 24 hours from $500
- Target the right audiences, in the right place, across 210 DMAs and 42,000 zip codes
- Measure campaign performance in real time with full CTV attribution
Paramount is where sports audiences go to watch their favorite players. And Paramount Ads Manager is where you go to win them over (even if it’s your first time TV advertising).
