Why Agencies and Advertisers Should Be Buying More Local Sports

When I reflect on being in the advertising space for just over five brief years—with three of them being on the sell side and two on the buy side—it is a no-brainer that live sports is, and will always be, a necessity when building out media plans and setting budgets.

Coming from local news-heavy publishers, the question that always comes up from agencies and brands whenever news-first inventory is pitched is around “do you have a live sports offering”? As a Gen Z, die-hard sports fan, I found it astounding that this would be asked because who would not have a live sports offering in this generation of viewership? 

News Fatigue vs. The Sports Escape

As informative and important as local news is to keep us aware of the issues of today, most of, if not all the time, we need an escape from the realities that face our communities, country and world that is so complex. There will always be bias, stand-still opinions, violence and uncertainty when it comes to news. As controversy of what truly is “local” news during broadcasts as well as if anchors push their agendas on viewers on specific topics, there is also a push to protect our mental health when it comes to consuming this kind of content.

Our brains need a break. 

Local sports give us that escape. Sure, there is debate and different takes on various topics in the sports world. But the reality of sports is rather simple. Are we good or do we suck? Did we win or did we lose? Are we the last team standing after the end of the season? What are we doing to improve our team during the offseason? And of course, who does not like the ice breaker the next day after a game at work of “did you see that game last night?”

The Power of Local Fandom in Ad Strategy

Sports keeps the fan talking, buzzing and speculating on what is to come next. And agencies and advertisers should use this to their advantage. 

MLB, NBA, and NHL teams, along with their regional sports networks, see this with their games, content, and sponsorship agreements. Fans are more likely to buy from a brand that sponsors their team over a competitor because of the fandom that comes with supporting that specific team.

Sports fans are by far the most premium audience in today’s ecosystem simply because of the commitment and dedication that never waivers for a specific team. Local fandom is only going to grow as new headlines, new rules, new players, and new agreements continue to emerge. 

The LeBron James Effect

NBA superstar LeBron James’ free agency saga is a prime example of this. NBA commissioner Adam Silver could not even create the NBA schedule for the 2026-2027 season without knowing where he is going to sign. As Gen Z NBA fans know, LeBron fans are notorious for “going wherever he goes” as well as claiming him as the “GOAT” (greatest of all time) of the NBA. So when LeBron James decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on a veteran minimum contract, the league’s wheels started turning with setting their national broadcast schedule, with the 76ers leading the way with 34 nationally televised games. All because one player’s decision on where he wanted to play next dictated how the league was going to progress. 

Philadelphia-based advertisers and local brands should not waste the opportunity to gain unique impressions over the next two seasons when LeBron is in town to find ways to get their brand on live Sixers in-game broadcasts. 

That is why DAZN, Prime Video, Peacock, and other streaming platforms are looking into how to attain local broadcast rights for various teams as stated in previous newsletters. 

Why Publishers Must Lead with Sports

Although these are my true thoughts, it is important to recognize that news will always be a source of inventory for publishers and that will not go away. Viewers are getting younger and smarter and have the desire to enjoy the content they are consuming rather than having to think of uncertainty. What can change is the position of pitching emerging sports properties before news so agencies and advertisers alike do not second-guess working with specific publishers. Of course, news-heavy publishers will find this more difficult than others, especially since CPMs on news properties continue to drop because of the decrease of news subscriptions. But seeing what impressions are being driven on the sports portions of news inventory should help publishers hone in on these specific users and eventually provide more sports inventory in the long run.

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