Winning the Sports Ad Game on CTV: How Peer39 Brings Precision to a Fragmented Arena

Sports content isn’t slowing down. With the 2026 sports season underway and major global events like the FIFA World Cup driving even more streaming viewership, sports remains one of the most sought-after categories in CTV and the second-largest genre on FAST channels.

With fans tuning in across dozens of platforms and devices, advertisers are following suit.

According to eMarketer, 105 million U.S. adults watched live sports on CTV, a number expected to grow another 21% by 2027. But as lucrative as sports content may be, buying it programmatically remains riddled with risk.

Inventory may look like premium content on the surface, but a lack of transparency often leaves buyers in the dark:

• What sport is this?
• Which teams are playing?
• Is the event live or just a recap?

Advertisers are forced to bid blindly on placements that may not align with campaign goals or brand safety standards.

The Complexity of CTV Sports Buying

CTV is booming, but the infrastructure supporting programmatic sports advertising is still catching up. Peer39’s analysis of industry-wide bid requests reveals that more than 25% of open exchange CTV bid requests contain no meaningful content signals at all, while only about 40% include usable program-level transparency. 

This lack of clarity undermines targeting, inflates costs, and compromises campaign performance. As Peer39 CEO Mario Diez explains, “The connected TV landscape is splitting into two distinct arenas, creating a complex environment where advertisers and publishers need to fine-tune their strategies. In both of these environments, there’s one common stream – the need for better signal clarity.”

It’s that signal clarity, across content, placement, and performance, that Peer39 delivers.

From Guesswork to Granular Control

Peer39 equips advertisers with program-level controls, allowing them to zero in on the exact moments that matter. Whether it’s a live college football matchup or a pregame commentary show, brands can tailor their CTV buys with remarkable precision by combining targeting and exclusion strategies, such as: 

• Targeting specific leagues and teams via custom keyword matching
• Avoid overblocking exclude News or Kids content without cutting off entire channels
• Control by genre, mood, ratings, or advisory tags for true contextual alignment and safety and suitability

This capability is essential in today’s fragmented viewing landscape. 

Cutting Through the Clutter of Fake CTV

Beyond context, placement quality remains a persistent concern. The rise of programmatic CTV has also opened the floodgates to non-TV inventory. This includes screensavers, mobile apps, and “ambient” content that technically qualifies as CTV but offers no real engagement.

Peer39’s Brand Suitability Controls include Safe from Fake Content and authenticated channels categories to keep advertisers off these placements entirely. In fact, Peer39-powered campaigns can limit exposure to fake content to just 2.5%, compared to over 25% in the open exchange. The result is a significant lift in both quality and buyer confidence.

Transparent Performance, Actionable Insights

Peer39 doesn’t just improve the buy; it enhances how buyers are able to measure success. The comprehensive CTV Quality Score, available directly in their Analytics Dashboard, consolidates key metrics like:

• Completion rate
• Sensitive content exposure
• User-generated content detection
• Known channel verification

This transparency empowers media teams to optimize in-flight, back performance with data, and ensure campaigns deliver on both reach and resonance. 

The Future of CTV Sports Advertising Is Clear

FAST platforms, streaming sticks, smart TVs, and virtual MVPDs are reshaping the way fans consume live events, especially as major sports moments continue shifting into streaming environments. Advertisers must keep pace. But premium content demands premium standards for clarity, safety, and accountability.

Peer39 makes that possible by giving advertisers the ability to confidently align their brand with the moments fans care about most.

When the game is on the line, your media strategy shouldn’t rely on guesswork.
With Peer39, you don’t just bid. You bid smarter.

Curious how your CTV sports campaigns stack up—and where they could be optimized?

Explore Peer39’s CTV solutions to discover how you can unlock transparent performance metrics, avoid wasteful inventory, and make smarter programmatic decisions across every live game, channel, and moment that matters.