On Demand Webinar: Navigating the Seismic Shift in Sports Advertising

State of the Industry: Navigating the Seismic Shift in Sports Advertising

The State of the Industry: Navigating the Seismic Shift in Sports Advertising explores how exclusive streaming rights and evolving viewer habits are transforming the way fans engage with sports and entertainment. MediaRadar’s Jay Nielsen, VP of Product, unpacks the latest data and trends shaping how advertisers connect with audiences in this new era. Attendees will discover the challenges, opportunities, and strategies brands can use to stay competitive as the sports advertising landscape rapidly evolves.

Webinar Q&A

Where do you see micro-influencers fitting into the influencer/celebrity mix?

Micro-influencers are the authenticity layer in the mix. Celebrities are great for fast, broad attention, but micro-influencers win when brands need “real people” credibility and relevance in specific communities—especially as media shifts toward more personalized, narrowcast distribution.

Largely B2C, I understand…. any comments/ insights about B2B as it relates to tariffs and political climate?

For B2B, tariffs and political volatility usually translate into more conservative budgeting and more scrutiny on ROI, plus messaging that emphasizes resilience (supply chain stability, lead times, predictable pricing). Also, political spend can create inventory pressure and pricing inflation, so B2B advertisers benefit from staying flexible across channels and timing.

Best replica of UGC for B2B advertising… could business leaders/experts fit the bill?

Yes—expert-led and leader-led content is the closest B2B equivalent of UGC because it delivers the same “human, credible, native-to-the-platform” feel. Think founder/executive POV, practitioner explainers, and customer voices—produced simply, with honesty and specificity.

Why is Financial Services expected to have such high growth? Any forecast on Auto? And Food & Beverage?

Financial Services is positioned for strong growth because it competes aggressively for high-LTV customers and can speak to both sides of the “K-shaped” economy (premium and value). In the deck’s latest view, Finance is a leading growth category (+20%, $18.1B). Auto and Food & Beverage are showing signals of stronger value messaging and are participating in the broader move toward CTV/OTT spend growth.

Political spending will be more spread out… will there still be key states with higher spend?

There will definitely still be key states with higher spend – many of the states we associate with high spend and competitive races will remain on-top of the ranking. Michigan, in particular, is likely in for another extremely expensive year.

When we say that we expect spending to be more “spread out”, what we really mean is that many of those smaller markets that were often overlooked by political advertisers have seen more and more political spending in recent cycles. There are lots of reasons for this: better intelligence on both the buy and sell side, changing political geographies making previously uncompetitive seats competitive, and more aggressive spending strategies in lower level races from outside groups, just to name a few.

You refer to streaming as OTT, but here you’re saying CTV. Are they the same?

They’re related, but not identical. OTT is the streaming delivery method, while CTV is streaming viewed on a connected TV device. In practice, many conversations bundle them together (as the deck does with “CTV/OTT”) because buying and measurement overlap heavily.

What do you think narrowcast will look like for local media companies with local newscasts and reporting?

Local narrowcast likely means local news becoming multi-endpoint video: streaming, social video, connected TV apps, and more personalized distribution. The opportunity is to package local reporting in more creator-native formats while keeping the trust advantage local news already has.

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About the Series

Each session in our State of the Industry Webinar Series highlights key market shifts—such as evolving ad budgets, emerging and declining media channels, and changing brand strategies—while offering data-driven insights into the forces shaping the future of advertising. From the rise of video and streaming to the transformation of sports viewership and beyond, this series helps industry leaders navigate change with clarity and confidence.