How Live Sports On CTV Is Reshaping Opportunity For Local Advertisers

Live sports has always been one of the most powerful and culturally unifying forces in media. What’s changed is where those moments are happening — and who can now access them.

As fans continue shifting to streaming, live sports has become a centerpiece of modern Connected TV (CTV) strategies. But for years, those premium in-game moments were effectively reserved for national advertisers, locked behind high costs, fragmented inventory, and complex buying processes that shut local and regional brands out.

That dynamic is changing fast. To understand how access, adoption, and perceptions around live sports on streaming are evolving, we partnered with Advertiser Perceptions on a new study examining how advertisers are planning, buying, and valuing live sports on CTV. Conducted in October 2025 among 303 ad agency or brand-side marketers directly involved in CTV decision-making, the findings point to a clear shift — and a widening opportunity for local and regional advertisers.

Read more on BIA Advisory Services’ Local Media & Tech Daily Newsletter here.