Jason Jones, Director of Regional Sales, Premion 

Every March, millions of fans fill out brackets, gather around screens and follow the unpredictable drama of the NCAA basketball tournament. March Madness has long been one of the most powerful cultural moments in sports — and today it’s also becoming a defining moment for the evolution of advertising.

The way fans watch live sports is changing rapidly. More viewers are streaming games across connected TV (CTV) platforms, and advertisers are following the audience. For brands looking to reach highly engaged viewers at scale, live sports on CTV has quickly become one of the most effective advertising channels.

The data reflects a clear shift in strategy. Our Live Sports on CTV study found that more than three-quarters (78%) of CTV advertisers are already running campaigns within live sports content on streaming platforms. Momentum is only accelerating: 79% of advertisers currently investing in live sports say they are likely to increase their spend over the next 12 months, and 77% say live sports inventory is more valuable than other premium CTV content. Live sports is also opening the door for local and regional advertisers to participate in premium sports moments that were once out of reach.

This shift comes as streaming expands how audiences access major cultural events. Live sports has long anchored linear television, delivering some of the most engaged audiences in media. As streaming platforms increasingly carry major games and tournaments, fans now expect the flexibility to watch across both linear and streaming channels — creating more ways to tune in and more opportunities for advertisers to connect with audiences.

Even more compelling, CTV delivers reach where it matters most. The MRI-Simmons November 2025 Cord Evolution Study* finds that 59% of sports fans say they like to stream live sports, highlighting how quickly streaming has become a natural extension of sports viewing. 

The research also shows that March Madness viewers who watch streaming TV are highly valuable audiences, with an average household income of $135K and nearly 60% earning more than $100K annually. Just as important, they take action — they’re 13% more likely to sign up for more information or an offer and 15% more likely to make an online purchase than the average U.S. adult.

For advertisers, this combination of engagement and purchasing power makes cultural moments like March Madness uniquely powerful. The tournament spans several weeks, with multiple rounds and evolving storylines that keep fans coming back — often watching live, following every possession and staying through the final buzzer. CTV enhances this environment by pairing premium live content with the precision and measurability advertisers increasingly expect.

Advertisers can target audiences by market, tailor messaging locally and better understand how campaigns perform — all while appearing in one of the most trusted, high-attention environments in media. For local and regional advertisers, this marks a major shift. Moments like live sports that were once reserved for national buys are now accessible through CTV, allowing brands to tap into major cultural events with greater precision and reach the audiences that matter most.

How Premion Helped an Auto Dealer Reach In-Market Buyers During March Madness

A Tier 2 automotive dealer association demonstrated how effective live sports on CTV can be during March Madness. The group wanted to promote seasonal vehicle incentives across a 50+ market footprint during the competitive spring buying season, when in-market auto shoppers are already saturated with promotional messaging.

To break through the clutter, the dealer group turned to Premion to align its campaign with the cultural momentum of the NCAA tournament, activating ads within live streaming coverage during all rounds from the First Four through the championship game. By combining precision geographic targeting with premium sports inventory, the campaign reached streaming audiences across the dealer association’s key markets while maintaining consistent visibility throughout the tournament.

The results underscored the impact of live sports on streaming platforms. The campaign reached a huge streaming audience, delivering 13.4 million impressions across 56 games with a 98.5% video completion rate, while game-level reporting provided detailed insight into performance and the quality of premium sports inventory.

March Madness offers a clear snapshot of the power of streaming. As advertisers adopt total TV strategies that integrate linear and streaming, cultural moments like live sports will continue to play a growing role in how brands reach engaged audiences at scale.

For more insights, download our new 2026 CTV/OTT Advertiser Survey.

*Source: MRI-Simmons, 2025 November Cord Evolution (SU 25 USA); Watched NCAA March Madness in the last 12 months  and are Ad-Supported OTT Viewers © MRI-Simmons 2025. The data herein derives from a confidential, proprietary syndicated product owned by GfK US MRI, LLC.