As the NFL kicks off another season, the top brands are driving engagement and boosting their stats like the pros with Connected TV (CTV) advertising.
The opening weeks of the 2024-25 football season were a staggering success, with an average of 18.6 million viewers tuning into NFL broadcasts across Fox, Paramount’s CBS, Disney’s ABC and ESPN, and Amazon’s Prime Video OTT services. Many fans caught their favorite teams by way of streaming, being one of the estimated 71% of US households that own a connected device.
Just like every good sports legacy, history is primed to repeat itself in 2025.
Streaming is at an all-time high, with the average US household subscribing to an average of four streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, Apple TV+, ESPN+, and more. Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like these are the all-stars of the CTV space.
With the rise of streaming, the way Americans are watching football is changing.
A Touchdown for Engagement
CTV isn’t just an alternative for smart savers or cord-cutters; it’s becoming the primary way people of all ages enjoy live sports. In fact, just over half of the country has swapped their traditional cable setup for streaming entirely, with 83% of all US households using streaming services to enjoy the media they love.
With CTV, you can leverage connected devices that captivate an attentive audience. Consider the availability of Smart TVs, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or even Wi-Fi-connected gaming consoles like PlayStation or Xbox within your audience’s home, business, or places that they’re likely to spend time, like a gym or sports bar. In this high-stakes match-up for engagement, CTV puts your team on top.
Developing a multichannel ad strategy that includes future-forward methods like CTV can help clients across industries reach potential new customers, raise brand awareness, and improve ROAS through live sports ad inventory. A key strategy is serving highly relevant ads during livestreams throughout the football season to reach engaged target audiences during game time.
Another Slice of Sales Success
A leading restaurant chain delivered 366% ROAS (well above the 300% ROAS agency benchmark) during football season with CTV and live sports streaming in play. They leveraged tasty visuals and connected sight to sale, streamlining orders from mobile devices. New features like scannable QR codes make digital ordering easy, right from the couch.
Mobile transactions increased by 9%, and desktop transactions increased by 7.5% (vs campaigns without CTV), compared to when the first ad impression was played through CTV. This campaign also achieved a 15% lift in brand awareness.
Now you can see why everyone wants a slice of this pie on gameday.
The Crowd Goes Wild
A recent study from Nielsen and LaLiga Tech found that younger viewers are engaging with sports more than previous generations. Streaming and mobile experiences, including fantasy sports, were part of that drive to engage. To capitalize on this new wave of Millennial and Gen Z sports fans, brands need to shake up their game plan and create a new, winning strategy.
55% of Gen Z fans said they’re looking for real-time stats, interactive features, and “second-screen” experiences that make them feel closer to the action.
The rise in sports viewership is going global. Many viewers from around the world are getting in on the action of live sports, anywhere and anytime, thanks to the convenience and accessibility of streaming. International audiences from countries like Nigeria, Indonesia, Colombia, Turkey, and the UAE identified as all-in sports fans, overshadowing the enthusiasm from responders from audiences in the US, UK, and France.
However, we’ve seen a fair share of excitement for some “American football” across the pond! This fall, the NFL returns to London. British fans can enjoy two games in October as the Minnesota Vikings take on the Cleveland Browns, followed by the Denver Broncos facing off against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With the power of streaming, fans back home won’t miss a minute. CTV gives your brand the ability to leverage connected devices in the household to tap into an engaged audience, watching their favorite teams with timely, relevant marketing content. Now that’s the perfect impression!
Giving Ad Skips the Slip
Given the nature of game time viewing, ads are shown at breaks in gameplay. These natural breakpoints feel logical, especially in the context of a live sporting event, which is prone to stopping and starting when the game is reset. Even in the days before streaming, commercial breaks were built into the broadcast schedule to air advertisements without interrupting the live action. Fans may not even notice these planned breaks, but can count on them after a touchdown, a change in possession, a timeout, or for player injury and substitution.
CTV ads have a high completion rate, with some reports showing that over 95% of ads are watched in their entirety because they are often non-skippable. If you consider the sequence of a football game, having a quick ad break isn’t so foreign to seasoned fans, especially those who were used to watching linear TV in the past.
Future Champions
By 2027, digital viewing of live sports is projected to reach 127.4 million viewers in the US – that’s a 21% increase from 2024! Projections show linear TV is expected to dip to around 75.5 million viewers at that same time. For marketers looking to reach their target audience, it will feel good to be on the winning team.
CTV allows for a level of precision that linear TV just can’t match, showing your target audience relevant ads at times when they are more inclined to be receptive. CTV campaigns achieve higher ROI and create lasting impressions that resonate with your core audience.
Big Screen, Bigger Reach
With CTV, you can maximize your reach and bring your campaign to the largest screen your audience owns—their television! Smart brands can adapt to new trends, reach potential new customers, raise brand awareness, and improve ROAS, all while building on a multichannel campaign for total access to their target audience.
Better Data, Better Outcomes.
With so many ways to connect you to your target audience, Redi-Data is the data connectivity partner your team needs to drive growth with dedicated multi-channel outreach.
Redi-Data is 100% CTV-enabled, and although we’re driving innovation, some things remain constant: better data means better outcomes. Our high-quality healthcare professional, business, and consumer data is the foundation of any successful programmatic campaign.
Let’s Connect
Contact a Redi-Data representative today to learn more about how your brand can leverage CTV for smarter, more effective targeting.