Link to The Trade Desk Home Page

Connected TV

The 2026 winter games in Milan: Your golden opportunity

With the 2026 winter games streaming on Peacock, The Trade Desk is empowering brands to reach one of the widest, most engaged audiences in live sports through programmatic access to this premium inventory.

An illustration showing a TV with a gold medal hanging over it. In the center of the medal, there's a play button.

Share:

Live sports remain among the most sought-after premium inventory on connected TV (CTV). Building on this momentum, we’ve partnered with NBCUniversal to bring advertisers programmatic access to one of the largest global tentpole moments of the year. 

Brands across categories, such as quick-service restaurants, travel, education, and health, are already seeing standout performance with programmatic live sports activation. Streaming offers advertisers a timely opportunity to reach engaged fans at scale with greater flexibility, control, and automation. 

Turning streaming scale into business outcomes 

During the 2026 winter games, families crowd around screens, fans follow every comeback, and millions watch new heroes emerge in real time. The Kokai platform experience helps brands translate these cultural moments into measurable performance. 

According to NBCUniversal, advertising during the 2024 summer games in Paris delivered strong brand impact, with advertisers seeing: 

  • 27% greater ad attention 

  • 44% greater message recall 

  • 14% higher brand search engagement 

  • 17% increased purchase intent1 

Across categories, the takeaway is clear: Brands can turn live streaming scale into tangible business outcomes when they meet viewers in moments that bring people together. 

Designed for streaming at tentpole scale 

Live sports move fast. Games spike, momentum shifts, and attention surges in seconds. Our platform is engineered for this exact environment, helping buyers work toward maximizing every impression and capture the full potential of live sports on streaming with four key advantages: 

  • Efficiency: Our proprietary pacing technology reacts instantly to attention spikes, helping you capture more impressions during more valuable moments. 

  • Automation: Our system provides a clear schedule view and paces spend across the season, automatically managing budgets and adjustments to reduce manual setup if you opt in to this feature. 

  • Flexibility: No minimums and adjustable budgets/​CPMs let advertisers of any size show up in the biggest moments. 

  • Optimization: Omnichannel reach keeps brands connected to fans before, during, and after games. 

Together, these capabilities can help ensure brands align with how fans watch today and capture the full value of streaming during the world’s biggest sporting moments. 

The road to the 2026 winter games: A landmark opportunity on CTV 

This year is shaping up to be a standout year for the winter games. With global excitement building and a growing share of fans planning to stream the games, advertisers have a golden opportunity to align with premium content, reach valuable audiences, and make every media dollar count. 

Planning for the moment is already underway, and if you need any assistance, contact us to help you unlock the full opportunity on streaming. 

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance. 

Source: 
1. NBCUniversal’s Presentation of Spectacular Paris Olympics Dominates Media Landscape Across All Platforms, August 2024.