On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our “very specific but highly unlikely” predictions for 2026: sports team sponsorships pushing the envelope, the ceiling for TikTok Shop, and a budding relationship between creators and retail media networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst Ross Benes, Senior Forecasting Analyst Oscar Orozco, and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
42% of consumers discuss sporting events with friends or family after seeing out-of-home (OOH) ads, according to a September report from The Harris Poll.
YouTube TV will offer over 10 new, genre-specific subscription bundles in 2026, with one option focused on sports, per a company announcement. YouTube TV Sports Plan will give users access to major sports networks and broadcasters that the pay TV provider offers, including NBC Sports Network, all ESPN networks and ESPN Unlimited, and FS1. Advertisers who thrive will rely on an omnichannel approach that keeps track of where viewers are watching while simultaneously accounting for the enduring relevance of linear to reach sports audiences.
Publicis Groupe’s 100th-anniversary film, “A Lion Never Gives Up,” blends live action with 4,500 AI-generated images to retell the company’s evolution and project its future. With more than half its workforce now in data, engineering, and AI, leadership says the next era will reward companies that fuse creativity with machine-driven operational scale. The film lands as Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG reshapes the competitive field, and Publicis argues its AI maturity gives it an edge in a more concentrated market.
Dentsu forecasts the global advertising market will surpass $1 trillion for the first time in 2026, growing 5.1% and powered by digital channels that will capture nearly 69% of total spend. Retail media leads with projected 14%–16% growth, while online video and social also expand double digits. Major global events—including the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and a packed political calendar—will drive attention and pricing pressure across markets. APAC remains the fastest-growing region, led by India and China, while the US will represent about 40% of worldwide spend. For marketers, algorithm-first planning, advanced measurement, and early tentpole buying will be critical.
YouTube and NBCUniversal are doubling down on creator-led Olympic storytelling for Milano Cortina 2026 after Paris proved how strongly younger viewers gravitate toward digital personalities. Top YouTubers will chronicle the journeys of 40 Team USA athletes, with unprecedented access inside trials, training environments, and even the Athlete Village. Nearly half of global sports fans—and 59% of adults ages 18 to 44—follow sports influencers, while YouTube captured 17% of all global Olympic engagement in 2024. For marketers, creators now sit at the center of Olympic discovery, highlights, and cultural relevance, making YouTube indispensable to Games-era planning.
Global sports rights costs across streaming and TV will increase 20% by 2030, per an Ampere Analysis estimate. That growth will send the total cost of sports media rights to over $78 billion. Marketing around live sports is paramount because sporting events deliver reliable audiences and high ad effectiveness, especially on streaming platforms. Advertisers with tighter budgets might struggle as costs increase—but there are still opportunities to advertise around live sports without breaking budgets.
Sports rights continue to fragment in the digital-first era with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) new media rights deals across Netflix, NBC, and ESPN. The MLB spreading game rights across platforms exacerbates the fragmentation issue advertisers are already facing. With fragmentation only likely to increase, brands that thrive will invest in strategic cross-platform campaigns and keep budgets flexible to follow viewers where they’re watching.
Broadcast TV’s share of viewing declined YoY in October despite inching up slightly from the prior month thanks to the NFL season, per Nielsen’s total TV/streaming estimates. Meanwhile, streaming continued to increase its viewership share—highlighting how live sports viewers are increasingly shifting to digital. Those who thrive in the shift to digital will steadily increase budgets for sports streaming while still maintaining some investment in cable and broadcast to reach the many live sports viewers who continue to watch through traditional channels.
Disney and YouTube TV struck a new carriage agreement late Friday, ending a nearly two-week clash that made more than 20 Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC, unavailable on the pay TV service. The outcome reinforces that YouTube is one of the most powerful forces in digital video, pay TV, and streaming. With a pay TV audience that eclipses its competitors and a viewership that is increasingly moving to digital platforms, YouTube TV is well positioned to capture sports-hungry audiences and the advertisers eager to reach them.
Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC, have officially been removed from leading pay TV platform YouTube TV after Disney and Google failed to resolve a distribution dispute. Even as YouTube TV gives subscribers access to a large number of non-Disney channels, its ad effectiveness could be harmed without as broad of a sports portfolio—necessitating cautious investment.
Hulu + Live TV and Fubo have struck a deal that will see the streaming platforms merge into a live TV streaming business after initially announcing an acquisition in January. Brands will benefit from access to growing subscribers and vast sports audiences that increasingly embrace digital, as the platforms combine scale with innovative ad formats.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how WNBA viewership did the year after the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ hit the league, what social media will do to full-game viewership growth, and what advertisers should be paying attention to most amidst this surge in women’s sports. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, and Analysts Marisa Jones and Paola Flores-Marquez. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Federal prosecutors have charged NBA figures Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones with gambling and fraud conspiracies tied to organized crime, marking the sport’s biggest integrity crisis in years. The case arrives as legal sports betting reaches record scale, with 38 states now allowing wagers and revenues projected to hit $20.6 billion by 2027. Yet as gambling becomes embedded in fan engagement and media strategy, public sentiment is turning—40% of US adults now view legalized betting as bad for sports. For leagues, advertisers, and sportsbooks alike, the scandal is a stress test for an industry built on trust.
Lululemon announced a deal with the NFL to sell fan apparel for all 32 teams. The collection will include men’s and women’s clothing, along with accessories. Lululemon, like Abercrombie & Fitch and Best Buy before it, sees the NFL partnership as an opportunity to appeal to the league’s massive and engaged fanbase. In lululemon’s case, it has a strong chance of winning over the growing numbers of women who, thanks to Taylor Swift, are tuning in more often to games, and looking for stylish ways to rep their favorite teams.
YouTube TV could lose access to Disney networks October 30, including ESPN, Disney Channel, and ABC, as Google and Disney enter a deal-renewal standoff. YouTube TV will become an increasingly risky investment for advertisers if a deal is not reached by the deadline, especially as advertisers turn to sports as a key channel to reach vast audiences but struggle with sports rights fragmentation.
The NBA is experiencing one of its biggest advertising booms in decades following a record $76 billion media rights deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon. Ad spend on NBA programming jumped 15% last season to $1.52 billion, with NBCUniversal selling out its first-year inventory after returning to coverage for the first time in 23 years. ESPN, ABC, and Prime Video are also thriving—drawing hundreds of advertisers across broadcast and streaming. Amazon is fusing ecommerce and live sports with shoppable ad formats, while NBC and Disney leverage cross-platform studio content. The result: the NBA is redefining what live sports monetization looks like.
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is evolving into a dynamic, data-rich medium that blends physical and digital engagement. Speaking at Advertising Week New York, OAAA’s Anna Bager and Vistar Media’s Lucy Markowitz described how AI, measurement, and social media are redefining OOH’s role in omnichannel marketing. Digital formats now make up over 36% of total OOH revenues, while programmatic buying and AI-driven creative optimization are transforming static screens into responsive canvases. Partnerships like TikTok’s “Out of Phone” show how viral content can extend into public spaces. The next phase of OOH will be defined not by size, but by intelligence and interactivity.