On-Stream Ads: The Billion-Dollar Sports Advertising Opportunity

Kjetil Horneland

CEO

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Did you know that U.S. sports media can earn over $ 1 billion through smarter, on-stream ad monetization? Provided by graphical overlays that appear on top of the live video at key moments (goals, home runs, dunks), there is a big opportunity in creating premium, additive ad inventory without interrupting play.

On-stream ads and overlays are easy to deploy:

  • On top of the stream; no stitching, no added delay. Overlays render over the video, so there’s no change to the stream and zero added delay.

  • No workflow disruption. Keep your existing ad ops, SSAI, and ad server workflows; just drop in a simple SDK.

  • Ad-tech compatibility out of the box. Fully integrated with Google Ad Manager and supports display + VAST video formats, with full impression reporting.

  • Buyer controls built in. Geo-targeting, pacing, and frequency caps are supported.

  • Cross-platform reach. Publish once across web, iOS/Android, Apple TV, Roku, Google/Android TV, Connected TVs, with touch & remote control UX across screens.

  • Works with your existing player. Add the SDK on top of current streaming apps; integration is simple.

  • Trusted at scale. Ease Live overlays power 25,000+ games per year across top-tier sports.

Overlays support formats that advertisers already know and love

Overlays support familiar, high-impact placements: L-bar, side-by-side, border frame, banner, side panel, lower third, and squeeze-backs. All delivered client side.

Triggering monetization

Overlays are 100% data-driven and can be triggered by metadata, SCTE-35 markers, user actions, or manual control from production—so ads land precisely when attention peaks. Triggers can also respond when a user joins the stream, or to any user action, enabling second-screen and interactive journeys without leaving the game.

Overlays support premium pricing and bigger ad yields

Overlay units are contextual and instant - arriving right after the big play - so they’re less intrusive and more relevant to fans, while giving brands a clear association with the moment. These premium ad moments generate 3–4× higher CPMs than traditional ads, and they’re additive to pre- and mid-roll inventory because they don’t consume break time.

The $Billion math

Partners have observed on-stream overlays commanding CPMs 3–4× standard digital video ads. Even a modest scenario, 100k concurrent viewers and 10 sponsored moments per game, can generate $45k per game. Scale that across hundreds of local feeds and national windows and the upside reaches $1B+ territory as adoption scales and overlays are fully deployed by teams, leagues, federations, brands and ad agencies.

How do you get started?

  1. Add the SDK to a single game feed; no changes to your stream or advertising workflows are required.

  2. Set up ad units in Google Ad Manager; enable display/VAST with geo, pacing, frequency caps and impression reporting.

  3. Define triggers (metadata, SCTE-35, user actions, manual) for a handful of premium game moments.

  4. Publish across web, mobile, and CTV; validate performance and fan experience across Apple TV, Roku, Google/Android TV.

  5. Measure and scale across teams/markets once CPM and engagement lift are verified.

Bottom line: overlays let you monetize moments you currently give away. These additive revenues are earned through new, fan-friendly inventory with no requirement for added breaks, zero workflow risk, and premium CPMs.

If you would like to know how to claim your share of $1 billion, get in touch with me or visit our monetization section.