This summer’s high-profile sports events, highlighted by the World Cup, reaffirmed their unique power to capture attention and unite global audiences. But, for many brands, turning that attention into impact is hard: Demand is high, inventory is limited and audiences are fragmented across a complex media landscape.
With the right strategy, though, those same conditions become an opportunity. A video strategy built to perform under the intensity of major sports moments will hold up under any season’s demands.
Illusion of scarcity
Sports account for almost a third of all ad-supported TV watch time. The 2026 NFL season alone spans more than 10 distinct ways to watch, comprised of networks and streaming platforms. That level of fragmentation makes live sports a powerful stress test for broader video strategies.
Because live-sports inventory is in high demand, it can appear scarce, especially when viewed from within any single, siloed platform. But a step back reveals opportunities spanning national, regional and local inventory, and a growing number of leagues and new properties. In reality, inventory is abundant, albeit fragmented, scattered and complex.
New platforms and content types have given rise to the always-on sports fan who checks out sports-related content before, during and after games on a second (sometimes third) screen. In fact, 88% of viewers under 35 use a second screen while watching sports events. They’re not just half-watching; they’re often shopping, checking stats or engaging with brands in real time, turning a single game into several overlapping windows of attention. For younger audiences, the live experience doesn’t end at the big screen and can actually mean deeper engagement.
That’s why today’s marketers can no longer afford to plan or buy media in silos. Unified video strategies that enable coordinated video planning and buying where attention moves, across broadcast, cable, CTV, OLV and YouTube, are critical. With a unified video strategy, brands can improve messaging frequency, relevance and uncover incremental audiences to drive media efficiency and improved return on ad spend.
The next layer: intent
Unification alone is not the finish line. Even the most well-connected, highly unified video strategy is susceptible to wasting media if anchored in merely chasing attention across a sea of content and impressions. As media consumption habits become more fluid, brands need to future-proof their strategies by anticipating engaged audience attention and intent.
Live sports magnifies the challenges and pressures of navigating today’s landscape. However, the weaknesses that live sports reveal about the video landscape, and the strategies needed to address them, extend well beyond sports. The brands poised to succeed aren’t necessarily spending more on more channels; they’re spending more intelligently, prioritizing unification and foresight as solutions for fragmentation to reach audiences wherever they’re engaged in the moments that matter most.
