"As sports marketing spend rises, demand among marketers for help managing and measuring the effects of that investment is also up. A clutch of specialist, sports-focused ad tech and mar tech firms have emerged in recent years to fill that gap. It's a niche that's expanding quickly in the wake of brands' enthusiasm for sports spending. PwC estimates the sports sponsorship market will rise above $160 billion by 2030 - and it was the hottest content to sell in this year's upfront marketplace."
"Some firms, such as NYSE-listed Genius Sports, are doing very well out of the opportunity. Genius provides data for specialized analytics to sports rights holders and betting firms, while offering the same information to advertisers for programmatic campaigns that incorporate narratives and emotional storytelling. The company, owned in part by the NFL, increased Q2 2025 revenue by 24% to $118.7 million; with a market cap of $3.19 billion at the time of writing, it's worth more than Havas."
Sports marketing spending is rising, creating stronger demand for tools to manage and measure sponsorship investment. Specialist sports-focused ad tech and martech firms are emerging to fill measurement and activation gaps. PwC projects the sports sponsorship market will exceed $160 billion by 2030. The market remains fragmented but is becoming more sophisticated and requires measurable outcomes for high-value deals. Data providers that serve rights holders, betting firms and advertisers are capturing growth, with firms expanding into brand advertising, acquiring fan data assets and striking agency partnerships to offer programmatic, narrative-driven ad formats and audience platforms.
Read at Digiday
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