3 Omnichannel Advertising Trends Set to Dominate the 2026 NFL Season

Originally published in 2023, this blog post has been updated to reflect the trends, stats, and advertising tactics shaping the 2026/2027 season.

Football fans rarely just watch football anymore.

They check fantasy lineups between plays. They scroll through reactions after a questionable call. They watch highlights, listen to player podcasts, follow betting updates, and shop without ever fully turning away from the game.

That is good news for advertisers.

The NFL still delivers the kind of mass audience few other properties can match. Regular-season games averaged 18.7 million viewers in 2025, a 10% increase from the previous season. 

But the real opportunity extends well beyond the commercial breaks. The modern NFL experience stretches across streaming platforms, mobile devices, social feeds, podcasts, sports publishers, and retail environments throughout the entire week.

As brands prepare for the 2026 season, these three trends can help them meet fans wherever the action takes them.

1. Streaming Is Changing More Than Where Fans Watch

Streaming is now firmly part of the live sports experience.

NFL games are spread across a growing mix of broadcast networks and streaming platforms, including Peacock, Prime Video, Netflix, ESPN platforms, and NFL+. The 2026 international schedule will also bring a record nine regular-season games to seven countries, opening the season to more audiences, viewing occasions, and time zones. 

For advertisers, the important shift is not simply that fans are watching games online. It is that streaming can make live sports advertising more targeted, interactive, and measurable.

Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage offers a clear example. Its 2025 schedule averaged 15.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched season in the history of Thursday Night Football. 

Alongside that audience growth, advertisers can use capabilities such as audience-based creative, interactive video, and QR codes to give viewers a more immediate way to respond.

Rather than serving the same commercial to every household, a brand might tailor creative based on interests, purchase behavior, or audience characteristics. A retailer could connect an ad directly to a shopping experience. An advertiser could also retarget exposed viewers across display, social, mobile video, or retail media after the game.

That makes streaming more than another place to run a television spot. It becomes one part of a connected campaign that can continue long after the final whistle.

2. The Second Screen Is Where Fans Keep the Game Going

Even when the television has their attention, fans are rarely far from their phones.

During a game, they may be checking stats, reacting in a group chat, tracking a fantasy matchup, watching an alternate angle, or scrolling through memes before the next snap.

Each of those behaviors creates another opportunity for advertisers to join the experience.

Brands can align display, online video, native, paid social, and connected TV campaigns with football-related environments such as:

• Game previews and predictions
• Fantasy football coverage
• Player and team news
• Betting and odds content
• Live analysis
• Highlights and post-game recaps

These placements can help brands reach fans while they are actively looking for more information, commentary, or entertainment related to the game.

They can also help move audiences further down the funnel. A connected TV ad may introduce the brand, while a mobile ad, social placement, or QR code gives the viewer a clear next step.

For example, an advertiser could build awareness during a game, retarget exposed households with mobile video, and follow up through paid social or retail media with a more direct call to action.

The strongest second-screen strategies do not compete with the game. They complement what fans are already doing.

3. NFL Podcasts Are Becoming Bigger Content Ecosystems

Football conversation does not stop when the game ends.

Fans spend the rest of the week following injuries, trades, fantasy advice, team news, player interviews, predictions, and post-game analysis. Podcasts have become a natural home for those conversations, but the opportunity is no longer limited to audio.

More than half of Americans age 12 and older have watched a video podcast, and 37% watched one within the previous month. 

That means an NFL show might now reach fans through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, social clips, connected TV apps, and creator-owned channels.

For advertisers, this opens the door to more integrated opportunities, including:

• Host-read audio and video ads
• Branded segments
• Programmatic audio
• Video sponsorships
• Product integrations
• Short-form social content
• Retargeting based on listener or viewer exposure

The appeal of these environments goes beyond reach. Fans often return to the same hosts and shows because they trust the personalities behind them. That can make the right partnership feel more natural and credible than a standard ad placement.

Brands should therefore think beyond “podcast advertising” as a single channel. The stronger opportunity may be a coordinated creator campaign that spans audio, video, social, and connected TV.

Build a Plan That Leaves Room for the Unexpected

Every NFL season delivers moments nobody saw coming.

A sideline clip becomes a meme. A player celebration takes over social media. A surprise performance changes the conversation around a team. A celebrity appearance pulls a new audience into the game.

Brands do not need to predict the exact moment. They need to be ready when one appears.

That means building flexibility into the media plan from the beginning. Approved creative templates, flexible budgets, social listening, contextual targeting, and a clear response process can all help advertisers move quickly without forcing a brand into every trending conversation.

Automatic content recognition data can add another layer by helping advertisers identify households exposed to a particular game or broadcast. Those viewers can then receive relevant follow-up messaging across display, mobile, video, or social.

The best approach combines preparation with flexibility: establish the core strategy before the season begins, then leave enough room to respond when football creates its next cultural moment.

Reach NFL Fans Beyond the Commercial Break

The NFL remains one of the biggest stages in media, but the opportunity is no longer limited to what happens during the game.

Streaming, second-screen behavior, podcasts, social content, and post-game engagement give advertisers more ways to reach fans across the week and throughout the season.

Digilant’s data-driven football advertising solutions bring those touchpoints together, helping brands build omnichannel campaigns around the teams, content, and moments their audiences care about.

Contact our team to start building your strategy for the 2026 NFL season.