The research, which surveyed 302 advertising decision‑makers between August 3 and August 11, 2026, also revealed that agency demand is even stronger, with 79% of agencies planning to invest compared with 65% of marketers.
Top motivations for the spending surge include reaching highly engaged sports fans during live events (cited by 61% of respondents) and capitalising on large‑audience sporting events (52%). Other drivers are brand alignment with premium live‑sports content (41%), extending the reach of linear‑TV campaigns (40%) and connecting with streaming‑first or cord‑cutting fans (37%).
Advertisers are seeking more precise measurement tools: 57% rank audience delivery and geographic reporting to local markets as the most important capability, while 52% prioritise attribution after exposure and 49% each value transparent reporting across publishers and measuring incremental reach beyond linear TV.
"Live sports continues to deliver something incredibly valuable for advertisers: passionate audiences showing up in real time," said Blake Hebert, head of publisher operations at Premion. He added that as sports viewing shifts to streaming, advertisers want greater precision, accountability and local relevance, and that the next step is to make live‑sports inventory easier to access, measure and prove.
Cost remains the biggest barrier to deeper investment, with 44% of respondents naming it the top obstacle. Difficulty measuring campaign performance and ROI follows closely at 41%, while 35% cite a lack of transparency in delivery and reporting, and 34% each point to the complexity of buying across multiple publishers and limited access to premium live‑sports inventory.
The survey sample consisted of U.S. advertisers and agencies that manage at least $1 million in planned spend over the next year, drawn from the Advertiser Perceptions AdPROs Community and trusted third‑party partners.
Analysts say the findings underscore a growing convergence between streaming and linear TV, as advertisers use live‑sports streaming to extend linear reach while gaining better targeting and measurement, provided the industry can address cost, ROI proof and marketplace fragmentation.