Articles
World Cup 2026
Why CTV and Big Screen Advertising are becoming mandatory for advertisers
July 2026
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is more than a sporting event. It is a stress test for the entire advertising industry. And a wake-up call: anyone who does not invest in Connected TV and Big Screen now is not just missing reach. They are missing the channel that truly brings together TV-quality and digital controllability for the first time.
The screen is back But it is no longer the same
The figures from the first matchdays of the 2026 World Cup are clear: the tournament is breaking record after record. In the United States alone, nearly 16 million viewers watched the opening match on Fox, Fox One, and Tubi – an increase of more than 100 percent compared to the U.S. opening match in Qatar 2022. In Germany, 23.4 million people tuned in to the Germany match, a market share of 70 percent. For the 2026 World Cup tournament, up to six billion viewers worldwide are projected.
The big screen is back, and it is growing like never before. But who is watching linear TV, and who is streaming? This question is crucial for advertisers, and the answer is becoming increasingly complex.
Usage is fragmenting: while traditional broadcasters continue to benefit from the tailwind of live sports, streaming viewership is rising rapidly in parallel. A clean separation between “linear viewers” and “streamers” is no longer easily possible in the market. This is precisely what makes CTV so relevant: it is the channel that connects both worlds.
The end of the old advertising logic: TV = branding, digital = performance
For a long time, there was a clear divide in media planning: classic TV handled brand building, high reach, emotional imagery, long-term impact. Digital video formats, on the other hand, delivered performance – clicks, short-term measurability, data-driven optimization. This separation is no longer up to date.
A recent study by Dentsu, Kantar, and Lumen titled “The Brand Reset” shows that digital video advertising in streaming environments now achieves almost the same level of long-term brand impact as traditional TV advertising (provided that the quality of attention is right). What matters is not reach alone, but how consciously and attentively an advertising message is perceived.
In this logic, CTV is not merely a compromise between TV and digital, it is an independent channel that combines the strengths of both: the emotional presence of television with the precision targeting and measurability of the digital ecosystem. What advertisers need now is not an either-or approach, but a holistic understanding of the big screen as both a branding and performance channel in one.
World Cup 2026: The strongest argument for CTV – live
Major events like the World Cup deliver exactly what has become rare in today’s fragmented media landscape: collective attention in real time. The characteristics of such moments are unique from an advertiser’s perspective.
What makes CTV particularly relevant for advertisers during live events: while the user leans back passively in traditional TV, in the Connected TV ecosystem they navigate actively. The user selects content, opens apps, and makes decisions. This is a fundamentally different advertising environment from the traditional ad break.
Programmatic meets live – that is the core challenge
The 2026 World Cup is also the largest live test to date for programmatic advertising in streaming environments. The tournament shows how premium inventory flows into programmatic channels, and what requirements this places on buyers.
Live events behave differently from on-demand campaigns: viewers tune in intentionally at the same time, inventory and demand spike abruptly, and CPM floors shift in real time. Buyers who want to succeed during the World Cup therefore need flexible campaign structures, guaranteed access to premium inventory where possible, and the willingness to optimize in real time – budgets, bids, and creatives. Those who plan campaigns too rigidly will lose out precisely at the moments when attention and emotional impact are at their highest.
Note on market transparency: An IAB survey from 2024 found that around 70 percent of advertisers consider a lack of CTV transparency a key obstacle. YOC therefore focuses on transparent, context-based solutions that make environment and impact visible. Learn more here.
What this means for your media planning
The 2026 World Cup is not an exception. It is a harbinger of a new normal: live sports are increasingly shifting to streaming on the big screen, and CTV is becoming the central interface between TV logic and digital logic. What applies today in the context of the World Cup will apply tomorrow to the Olympics, the Champions League, Formula 1 and eventually to every premium content moment.
For advertisers, this results in clear consequences:
The big screen is back – but it is no longer the same. It has become digital. It is controllable. It is measurable. And it is more emotionally charged than ever before. CTV is not an either-or. The format combines TV and digital and live events like the 2026 World Cup are the natural use case.
