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A bar chart projecting U.S. sports TV ad spending from 2026 to 2030. Total spending is expected to grow, peaking at approximately $25 billion in 2030. The chart differentiates between Connected TV (green) and traditional TV (blue) ad spending, with traditional TV representing a larger portion across all years.

Projected U.S. sports TV ad spending

Data: eMarketer; Note: The data includes ads that run across live sports TV content, as well as time-shifted content, like DVR recordings of live TV events. Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Sports has emerged as the media industry's clearest growth engine as streaming matures.

Why it matters: Live sports not only attract subscribers but also fuel premium ad dollars and engagement across companies' broader content ecosystems.

Follow the money: "Most brands are absolutely buying sports to some extent," Digitas chief media and investment officer Liane Nadeau says. "Sports as a reach-driver and as a, frankly, high-attention viewing appointment is still far and away one of the biggest and the best."

"It's not just something that people talk about in the moment with the people in the room with them, but it's something that gets fandom and creates community," Nadeau adds.

By the numbers: Sports TV advertising is projected to grow from about $19.5 billion this year to nearly $25 billion by 2030, per Emarketer.

While linear TV remains the largest piece of that ad market, connected TV's share is expected to rise from $3.5 billion to more than $7 billion over that same period.

The big picture: For media companies, sports aren't just valuable on their own. They can help power the rest of the business.

Paramount Skydance chief revenue officer Jay Askinasi says sports rights serve as a "big funnel" that drives subscriber acquisition, marketing opportunities and viewership across the broader ecosystem.

"The NFL for us on Sundays is the most valuable inventory," Askinasi says. "But it's also a huge feeder for our subsequent programming and the ability for us to market our flywheel."

Sports rights are also helping expand demographics. The average age of new Paramount+ subscribers for the UFC is 15 years younger than the streaming service's existing audience, Askinasi says.

State of play: Streaming companies are spending aggressively on sports rights despite pressure to improve profitability.

Peacock is set to stream more than 8,400 hours of live sports this year, sports commentator Mike Tirico said during NBCUniversal's Upfront presentation. Comcast reported Peacock's losses for the fourth quarter increased 48% year over year as rights fees for the NBA kicked in.

Paramount+ acquired the U.S. rights to UFC last year for $7.7 billion over seven years, adding to its roster of NFL games, major golf tournaments like the Masters, college sports and soccer. 

TelevisaUnivision renewed its deals with CONCACAF's Gold Cup and Nations League and added others like CONMEBOL Libertadores. It also has the Spanish-language rights to the next Super Bowl.

Netflix has expanded from sports documentary programming like "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" into live events, including NFL games, WWE and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Amazon not only has the NFL's "Thursday Night Football" but also NBA, WNBA, NASCAR and select other games.

The bottom line: "We're going to continue to invest in major sports because that's what our audience is and that's what our clients want," TelevisaUnivision's ad sales chief John Kozack says. "Our strategy for sports is always on."

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Sports rights drive streaming growth

Average age of new Paramount+ subscribers for the UFC is 15 years younger than the streamer's existing audience.

A bar chart projecting U.S. sports TV ad spending from 2026 to 2030. Total spending is expected to grow, peaking at approximately $25 billion in 2030. The chart differentiates between Connected TV (green) and traditional TV (blue) ad spending, with traditional TV representing a larger portion.

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<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Sports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-executive-28df4570-2760-11f0-9d61-259d2f55f976" data-vars-content-id="205f6d1d-86ac-4217-9a0a-5612dd85dc40" data-vars-headline="Sports rights drive streaming growth" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-executive-28df4570-2760-11f0-9d61-259d2f55f976" target="_self">Sports</a> has emerged as the media industry&#x27;s clearest growth engine as streaming matures.Why it matters: Live sports not only attract subscribers but also fuel premium ad dollars and engagement across companies&#x27; broader content ecosystems.

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Sports rights drive streaming growth

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