A report from The Trade Desk Intelligence and PA Consulting indicates that connected TV is the only channel spanning all five stages of the sports fandom life cycle. The study highlights that 87% of sports fans engage with secondary channels like podcasts and gaming after interacting with CTV, suggesting a need for cross-channel advertising strategies.
The dominance of connected TV across the entire sports life cycle suggests that isolated, event-based ad buying is no longer sufficient for reaching modern fans. As 87% of viewers move between CTV and other connected channels, advertisers must adopt cross-platform strategies that maintain presence during high-attention moments outside the live broadcast window. This shift forces a move away from traditional linear-style spot buying toward a more integrated digital approach that follows the fan journey into podcasts and news sites. Watch for whether Major League Soccer's 2027 schedule alignment with global leagues triggers a measurable increase in year-round CTV ad spend for soccer-related content.
The Trade Desk has been aggressively expanding its sports advertising capabilities throughout 2026, positioning CTV as the anchor for year-round fan engagement strategies. In May 2026, The Trade Desk announced a partnership with Wurl to distribute free ad-supported streaming channels across its platform, extending its reach into FAST content that complements live sports programming. The company's Kokai platform, which uses AI-driven bidding and audience targeting, has become central to how agencies plan cross-channel sports campaigns that extend beyond the live broadcast window into podcasts, gaming, and social content.
The broader CTV advertising market continues to consolidate around programmatic buying, with The Trade Desk competing against Amazon Ads, Roku, and Disney for sports ad dollars. Hub Entertainment Research found in its 2026 study that sports remains the most-watched genre on CTV platforms, with live events driving the highest completion rates and ad recall. The Trade Desk's report arrives as agencies increasingly demand unified measurement across linear and CTV sports inventory, a gap that has driven investment in cross-platform attribution tools. PA Consulting's involvement signals the growing role of management consultancies in validating CTV's strategic position for brand advertisers who still allocate the majority of sports budgets to linear television.
Competitive pressure in CTV sports advertising is intensifying as platforms build proprietary data advantages. Roku announced in August 2026 that its Sports Zone had reached 15 million monthly active users, offering advertisers first-party audience segments built from viewing behavior across live and on-demand sports content. Amazon's Thursday Night Football package on Prime Video continues to attract premium CPMs, while Disney reported that ESPN+ streaming subscriptions grew 22% year-over-year through Q2 2026, driven by expanded international soccer and college sports rights. These developments underscore why The Trade Desk's finding that CTV spans all five fandom stages carries weight: advertisers need programmatic tools that can follow fans across an increasingly fragmented sports viewing landscape rather than buying isolated event windows.
A report from The Trade Desk Intelligence and PA Consulting reveals that 83% of sports fans use connected TV, which serves as the only medium spanning all five stages of the fan life cycle. This dominance forces advertisers to shift from isolated event-based buying to integrated, cross-platform strategies that follow fans year-round.
According to the report from The Trade Desk Intelligence and PA Consulting, 83% of sports fans use connected TV.
CTV is the only channel present during all five stages of the fan life cycle, including the buildup, live game, postgame, between-game updates, and the offseason.
87% of viewers engage with secondary digital channels like podcasts and gaming after watching sports on CTV, and 67% of respondents visit sports websites following CTV or podcast exposure.
Second-screen usage is high among fans under 35, with 89% using additional devices to track live statistics during games.
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