NBCU’s Winter Olympics sellout proves the value of linear streaming

Media companies are silently cheering NBCU’s news that they’ve sold out their Winter Olympics inventory. While the amount of content for sale on CTV and other digital platforms has exploded, premier content and especially live sports is still in high demand.

Not only is the 2026 games the highest grossing Winter Olympics of all time, it’s a record across linear and digital. This marks an important milestone, showing the importance of bridging traditional media with new media into a single revenue model. To do this, NBCU and other media companies are bringing together the best of linear, such as premium up-front and packaged pricing with the best of digital, including dynamic ad delivery.

Called “linear streaming” this hybrid approach is the best way for media companies to capture advertiser demand, unify their businesses and reach audiences effectively.

Positive momentum during uncertain circumstances

Advertisers and media companies are facing 2026 with a mix of caution and optimism. The economic uncertainty that the US is facing puts a strain on spending, so many advertisers are reducing budgets or putting an emphasis on outcomes. At the same time, media companies know that they are dealing with increased competition and new audience behaviors, from FAST apps to social media to AI search.

A record spend so early in 2026 signals that even in the face of uncertainty, brands are coming out strong for the content that matters most. Brands aren’t just chasing cheap impressions. Instead, they’re looking for impact and performance and they know that premium live content delivers.

The Winter Olympics deliver a powerful message to the media market. Create high-engagement live content and advertisers will come.

The most recent Summer Olympics featured a wide variety of content. It was the first games to record and stream every single moment of competition, more than 10,000 hours! It was also the first time viewers had access to interactive streaming features like behind-the-scenes interviews. At the same time, many athletes leaned into social media, creating cross-platform advertising opportunities for brands.

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This combination of a captive mass audience and opportunity for streaming innovation is irresistible to brands, who not only want to reach consumers, they also want to be at the forefront of progress. This time around, NBCU has many streaming firsts including personalization, influencer storytelling “mini-games” and more. Brands are willing guinea pigs when engagement and content quality is at its peak.

Delivering on a promise of reach

Even though the interactive, personalized elements of streaming are enticing to bands, that unique moment when everyone sees the same ad still matters to brands. Television has the power to “move markets” — building brand awareness and consumer perception. TV is also considered to be the most “acceptable” place for advertising, meaning more people are open to brand messaging.

Linear TV reigned supreme over all advertising channels for decades for these very reasons. When CTV first emerged, brands had to make a choice. Treat CTV like an extension of linear, or take advantage of its digital nature and lean into audience targeting and specialized ad messages.

As CTV has grown, the choice between reach and targeting is at the forefront of advertiser planning. The approach that is emerging now depends more on the content itself. Premium content such as live sports is treated like linear while long tail and evergreen content is treated more like digital.

This is partially due to publisher sales strategies. Publishers don’t want their best content to be commoditized. But it’s also due to advertiser demand. They are willing to pay a premium for engaging, quality content, and they want to buy the same way across linear and streaming to reach one large audience.

Linear streaming to the rescue

With a hybrid approach that preserves the best of linear while embracing new streaming capabilities, publishers can deliver everything that advertisers demand and more. Linear streaming isn’t just a front-end sales approach, it also brings together data, processes, product packaging, workflows and reporting.

Media companies know that brands want to reach audiences and optimize campaigns across platforms and channels, and they don’t want it to be cumbersome and opaque. Linear streaming allows media companies to create a streamlined proposal, program campaigns, deliver and report the way brands want.

At the same time, media companies know they need to unify their business enough so that they can drive efficiencies, price effectively and forecast accurately. While they aren’t about to rip and replace linear technology, using modular solutions that knit disparate elements of the business together is critical to operating efficiently.

With linear streaming, media companies can confidently market and deliver on the promise of content like the Winter Olympics. For the foreseeable future, success depends on making the most of linear while supporting streaming growth.

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Dave Dembowski, OperativeDavid is the chief revenue officer at Operative, working with his team to forge strong relationships with media companies around the world. He brings over 20 years of leadership experience with media and technology companies, including Operative, Standard Media Index, IgnitionOne, and Yahoo.