2026 Report

The Live Moment Effect

New research from Genius Sports and MediaScience reveals that ads delivered after high-intensity moments in live sports can dramatically influence their effectiveness. Discover how aligning with live sports moments can transform attention, memory, and brand impact.

The Live Moment Effect

Key Findings

High-impact live sports moments

When the stakes rise, attention follows

Ads that follow high-intensity moments benefit from stronger attention and memory.

2X unaided brand recall

Surprising moments drive memory

Unaided brand recall is twice as high following surprising moments.

Winning moments

Winning leaves a stronger impression

Brand recognition is significantly higher for fans of the winning team.

The moments that move fans also move brands

Live sports create real-time shifts in emotion that directly shape how fans process and remember advertising.

When brands align with those moments, they benefit from higher attention, stronger recall, and more meaningful impact.

Sports fans

The opportunity for advertisers

  • Activate against emotion, not just inventory or placement.
  • Capture peak attention windows by aligning with high-impact plays, which create bursts of attention
  • Turn timing into a competitive advantage, leveraging real-time data and dynamic creative
Sports fans

Not all moments are created equal

Download the report for a clear view of how emotional moments shape attention and memory, along with practical ways to identify, plan, and activate against these moments in your advertising strategy.

Live Sports Moments

Own the moments that matter

Inside the report:

  1. How emotional context drives advertising effectiveness in live sports
  2. Which in-game moments amplify fan attention most
  3. How to consistently show up for high-impact moments without increasing spend