Streaming platform rides $5.9B NFL ad shift to connected TV

A streaming platform identified by Motley Fool as a long-term consumer play is riding the secular shift of advertising dollars to connected TV, a market where NFL ad revenue alone reached $5.9 billion in the 2025-26 season, up 7% from a year earlier.

"The streaming market is crowded, but this platform business is in a great position to continue riding the secular growth story," the Motley Fool analyst wrote in a June 6 note. "Advertising dollars shifting to connected TV is the major revenue driver for this company."

NFL ad spending on streaming platforms totaled $676 million in the 2025-26 season, according to media intelligence platform Guideline, with broadcast networks pulling in $5.19 billion. Disney posted 19% full-season revenue growth among NFL media partners, the strongest of any parent company, as it aired more games on ABC and ran ABC/ESPN simulcasts. Overall linear TV sports spending reached $14 billion in 2025, up from $13.8 billion in 2024, with 2026 trending 13% higher.

The shift represents a structural change in how advertisers reach consumers, with streaming platforms capturing an increasing share of a $200 billion global media transaction market tracked by Guideline. For the identified platform, the ability to monetize cord-cutting viewers through targeted CTV advertising creates a revenue stream that traditional TV networks cannot replicate.

The NFL ad growth trajectory

The NFL has seen sustained advertising growth over the past three seasons. Revenue rose 14% to $5.02 billion in the 2023-24 season, followed by a 9.6% increase to $5.5 billion in 2024-25, before reaching $5.9 billion in the most recent season. This consistent growth has made NFL rights the most valuable programming in television.

Fox Corp. commanded the largest share of NFL ad revenue at 30%, followed by Paramount Global at 23% and Comcast Corp. at 21%. Amazon's Prime Video held 10%, while Netflix captured 2% in its first season with NFL games. Regular season NFL TV advertising rose 6% to $4.1 billion, while playoff games jumped 13% to $1.1 billion. The Super Bowl on NBC generated $500 million in ad revenue, up 2% from the prior year.

CTV's structural advantage over linear TV

Connected TV platforms offer advertisers targeting capabilities that linear TV cannot match, including audience segmentation, real-time measurement, and addressable ads. This technological advantage is driving budget allocation shifts across the $80 billion U.S. TV advertising market. Streaming platforms grew NFL ad revenue 5% year-over-year, while broadcast networks grew 7%, suggesting that CTV is capturing an increasing share of incremental ad dollars.

The Philadelphia Eagles, the 2025-26 Super Bowl champion, generated the strongest team-level media revenue, followed by the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos. This ranking shows that both championship success and market size drive advertising value.

Forward outlook for CTV advertising

With the FIFA World Cup set to air on Fox, FS1, Telemundo, and Universo in coming weeks, and the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics having aired on NBC and Peacock in February, the 2026 calendar is packed with live sports inventory that will further test the CTV ad market's capacity. First-quarter 2026 ad revenue already reached $4.3 billion, up from $3.8 billion a year earlier, a 13% increase pointing to continued momentum.

For the streaming platform identified by Motley Fool, the combination of live sports migrating to streaming, cord-cutting accelerating, and advertisers following viewers to digital platforms creates a multi-year opportunity that extends beyond any single season or event. The platform's ability to capture a share of the growing CTV ad market will depend on its user base, ad technology, and competitive positioning against larger rivals.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.