March Madness isn’t just a major moment in sports, it’s a prime opportunity for advertisers looking to capture high-intent audiences at scale. The tournament delivers high attention environments, with viewers locked in on games, emotionally invested in their brackets, and engaging across multiple screens. Unlike traditional TV, where passive viewing dominates, March Madness on CTV offers an engaged, lean-in experience—an ideal setting for brands to make a lasting impact.
Here’s how to make sure your programmatic campaigns are set up to drive results during one of the most engaged sporting events of the year.
The Power of March Madness in CTV
The NCAA Tournament is one of the most coveted live sports events for advertisers. The numbers speak for themselves:
Millions of engaged viewers – March Madness sees tens of millions tuning in across multiple devices.
Longer watch times – Unlike traditional TV, where viewers flip channels, CTV users are highly engaged, often watching entire games.
Multi-screen experience – Fans aren’t just watching; they’re researching stats, checking brackets, and engaging in social media while games are on.
Premium inventory – Unlike fragmented video inventory, live sports on CTV ensures your ads are placed in front of highly attentive audiences.
High attention advertising moments – Fans are emotionally engaged, making them more receptive to relevant brand messaging.
Where to Run Your CTV Ads
March Madness programming is carried across multiple CTV platforms, making it crucial to understand where to allocate spend. Some key platforms include:
Hulu + Live TV
YouTube TV
Sling TV
DirecTV Stream
FuboTV
Paramount+ (CBS broadcasts)
ESPN+ and Turner Sports Apps (TBS, TNT, TruTV)
Each platform offers different audience reach and reporting capabilities, so strategic buying is key.
Avoid the Madness: Key Challenges to Navigate
Despite the benefits, buying into March Madness without a solid plan can lead to inefficiencies. Here’s what to watch out for:
1. Inventory Overload & Wasted Spend
The demand for live sports inventory skyrockets, which means advertisers often overpay for impressions that may not actually move the needle.
Prioritize partners with diverse access to supply—those that can tap into both publisher-direct deals and multiple SSPs to ensure cost efficiency and quality.
2. Lack of Audience Targeting & Contextual Alignment
Not all March Madness viewers are equal. A general sports audience won’t convert the same way as a curated segment of high-value customers.
Leverage contextual triggers—like teams playing, bracket standings, or regional interest—to customize ad delivery and ensure relevance.
3. Data & Attribution Blind Spots
The complexity of CTV makes it harder to measure conversions compared to traditional digital media.
Multi-touch attribution (MTA) is key—capturing CTV-exposed users across web, display, and other touchpoints helps advertisers track the true impact of their campaigns.
Key multi-touch attribution strategies:
Match CTV impressions with website visits and digital actions.
Retarget CTV viewers on desktop, mobile, and social platforms.
Use post-exposure surveys to measure brand recall and engagement.
4. Transparency into Programming, Frequency Capping & Platform-Level Reporting
Know where your ads are running. Prioritize supply partners that offer transparency into programming placements to ensure brand safety and premium exposure.
Control frequency and reduce fatigue. With multiple games per day and an extended tournament timeline, it's easy to oversaturate audiences. Cross-device frequency capping ensures viewers aren’t seeing the same ad too often across different screens.
Demand granular reporting at the platform level to assess performance, optimize spending, and adjust strategies in real time.
How to Win: The March Madness Programmatic Game Plan
To maximize your campaign impact, here’s a structured approach:
1. Prioritize Premium & Transparent Inventory
Curate a high-quality PMP (Private Marketplace) to ensure access to the best sports-related inventory.
Choose partners with diverse supply access, ensuring they can pull from both publisher-direct sources and multiple SSPs for better pricing and placement control.
Demand transparency into where your ads are placed to avoid low-quality impressions.
2. Fine-Tune Targeting & Creative
Go beyond standard sports demo targeting. Use contextual triggers—like teams playing, bracket standings, or regional interest—to customize ad delivery.
Align creative with real-time moments. Dynamic creative optimizations (DCO) can adapt messaging based on the game, player performances, or breaking news.
3. Control Frequency & Manage Ad Fatigue
Frequency capping is critical—with multiple games per day and an extended tournament timeline, it's easy to oversaturate audiences.
Implement cross-device frequency capping to ensure viewers aren’t seeing the same ad too often across different screens.
Use sequential messaging to tell a cohesive story instead of hammering the same creative over and over.
4. Monitor & Optimize in Real Time
With fluctuating audience engagement levels, staying static is a losing strategy.
Use real-time reporting and bid adjustments to shift spend toward the highest-performing placements as the tournament progresses.
Leverage multi-touch attribution (MTA) to track CTV-exposed users across web and display, refining future targeting.
Play Smart, Win Big
March Madness is a high-stakes opportunity for advertisers. But success isn’t about how much you spend—it’s about where and how you spend it.
With the right combination of curated inventory, transparent placements, multi-touch attribution, and frequency control, your programmatic strategy can drive serious impact throughout the tournament.
SignalTap ensures you’re playing a smarter game, not just a bigger one. Let’s make every impression count this March Madness.
Ready to optimize your campaigns? Let’s talk.
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