The FIFA World Cup and Winter Olympics in 2026 are set to transform sports marketing, but streaming is the game-changer that marketers need to focus on. According to Nielsen’s report on sports media trends, streaming is reshaping how fans consume sports, leading to longer engagement times. Traditional TV still benefits from sports, evidenced by a 20% increase in broadcast viewership during the return of football in September 2025. The Super Bowl LIX attracted a record 127 million viewers, with Fox's Tubi streaming service capturing a significant younger audience—18.9% of viewers aged 18 to 34, compared to 26.2% for Tubi alone. The trend continues with NBC's Sunday Night Football, where only 12.1% of cable viewers were in the 18-34 demographic, but that rose to 25.9% for Peacock’s streaming audience. In contrast, the older demographic (65+) dominated linear viewership at 33% but only made up 9.9% of Peacock’s audience. Nielsen's findings suggest that airing games on both linear and streaming platforms offers the most potential for reaching younger fans. Beyond live games, sports documentaries are engaging viewers and driving interest in various sports. Popular series like “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” have contributed to a surge in viewership, with total viewing minutes for sports documentaries increasing from 4.7 billion in 2021 to nearly 17 billion by 2024. “Drive to Survive” has doubled the average audience for Grand Prix events on Disney's networks since its 2019 debut. The success of these documentaries illustrates how streaming platforms provide fans with easy access to content, increasing engagement and interest in niche sports.