Super League secures U.S. ad sales rights for Play.Works CTV inventory

The deal bridges the gap between passive streaming and active engagement by formalizing a sales channel for high-retention 'advergaming' units. As traditional linear TV ad spend is projected to drop to 11% by 2026, brands are shifting toward interactive formats that solve for the passive 'lean-back' nature of CTV. This partnership positions Super League as a primary gatekeeper for mid-core and casual gaming audiences on the largest screen in the home. Watch for quarterly revenue lift from this managed media solution as Super League integrates these assets into its broader programmatic stack.

The partnership follows a period of aggressive strategic realignment for Super League. In early 2026, the company completed its acquisition of the Misfits Ads Business for $1.5 million in cash, which added programmatic revenue streams and creator partnerships to its portfolio, per StockTitan (May 2026). This expansion supports a broader institutional pivot toward high-margin, 'playable' media as the company adapts to shifts in the Roblox ad ecosystem. According to Super League's Q1 2026 earnings report, gross margins improved to 36% as it narrowed its path toward EBITDA profitability by fiscal year-end.

Play.Works has concurrently scaled its own distribution reach, recently securing partnerships with high-profile creators like Khaby Lame to bring social-first comedy shorts to the TV screen, per PR Newswire (January 2025). The company's catalog now exceeds 400 titles, featuring established intellectual properties such as Tetris and Pac-Man. This growth coincides with eMarketer's February 2026 projections that nine major CTV platforms will generate over $1 billion each in annual ad revenue by the end of the year, signaling massive advertiser demand for differentiated, non-linear inventory.

Market-wide indicators also favor interactive formats. Per eMarketer (February 2026), interactive CTV features like on-screen QR codes are seeing increased adoption, and CTV ads generally maintain a 98% completion rate, significantly outperforming mobile. Super League’s inclusion of Play.Works’ rewarded video technology—where users view ads in exchange for digital items—directly aligns with broader industry efforts to combat creative fatigue and passive viewing habits in an increasingly fragmented streaming environment.