Genius Sports Research Reveals the New Playbook for Multiscreen Sports Advertising

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2026--

Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI), a global leader in real-time sports data and technology, today released The Companion Screen: A New Era of Sports Consumption and Advertising, new research revealing how the relationship between television and mobile is reshaping sports advertising.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260831410096/en/

Marketers have traditionally approached television and mobile as separate environments that accompany different media strategies, ad creative and measurement. However, sports fans do not experience those screens as separate environments, but rather as a cohesive experience in which each screen has a role in enhancing the entire sports experience.

While watching a game, mobile has become an indispensable companion to television and the overall sports consumption experience: a place to message friends, check scores and stats, browse social media for additional insights and commentary on the game, shop and engage more deeply with what is happening on screen. Genius Sports’ new thought leadership research shows that this creates an opportunity for advertisers to think beyond simply reaching the same fan across multiple devices and instead connect the experience across screens, to both the individual fan and the specific moments unfolding in the game.

Among people who watch sports at least weekly, 71% want mobile advertising personalized to their interests and 59% want advertising personalized to what is happening in the game they are watching.

The next era of sports advertising goes beyond targeting the right fan or even the right game. It is about understanding what is happening in the game in real time and aligning advertising with the mood and momentum of the fan experience. A big play, a tense finish or a break in the action creates a different mindset — and a different opportunity for brands to connect. Fans identified halftime (30%), their team scoring or making a big play (29%), and close or exciting moments (23%) among the moments when relevant advertising can have the greatest impact.

“Mobile is no longer a ‘second screen’; it’s the companion screen, helping fans connect, react to the game in real time and engage with brands in relevant ways,” said Tony Marlow, Chief Marketing Officer at Genius Sports. “Everything happening around the game, from social and fantasy to prediction markets and live experiences is turning up the surrounding sound of sports. The game is getting bigger, more connected, and more immersive. And fans are telling us exactly what they want from brands in that environment: to connect the experience across screens and make every interaction relevant to both who they are and what’s happening in the game.”

The research points to a new model for sports advertising that brings three signals together: who the fan is, what is happening in the game and which screen they are using. The opportunity extends across screens, with 61% of weekly sports viewers saying they would welcome a personalized mobile offer connected to an ad they had just seen on TV.

Genius Sports enables this through its Fan Graph and Moment Engine. The Fan Graph brings together fan identity, interests and behaviors to help brands understand who they are reaching, while the Moment Engine uses proprietary live sports data to identify and activate against meaningful moments as games unfold. Together, they enable marketers to reach the right fan, on the right screen, at the right moment.

Genius Sports fielded the survey among 1,001 U.S. adults during the week of August 10, 2026, with results balanced to U.S. Census figures for age, gender, income and region.

The full report, The Companion Screen: A New Era of Sports Consumption and Advertising, is available at https://digital.geniussports.com/l/822433/2026-08-28/tztlrj

ABOUT GENIUS SPORTS

Genius Sports is a global leader in real-time sports data and the official technology and media partner powering the global sports ecosystem. Its platform is used in more than 150 countries, connecting leagues, teams, sportsbooks, broadcasters, brands and fans through official data, video, analytics and fan engagement solutions.

Genius Sports partners with more than 1,000 sports organizations worldwide, including the NFL, English Premier League and NCAA, and works with leading sportsbooks, broadcasters and media companies including DraftKings, FanDuel, bet365, CBS, NBC and ESPN. Through AI, computer vision and live sports technology, Genius Sports helps rights holders capture, manage and commercialize their content across the full fan journey.

For more information, visit geniussports.com.

Genius Sports Research Reveals the New Playbook for Multiscreen Sports Advertising

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — More rain and thunderstorms were possible Monday at the Grand Canyon following a major flash flood that left one person dead and about 15 others missing or unaccounted for, with scores of visitors evacuated and the only water pipeline for tourists and residents destroyed.

Emergency water restrictions that began Monday prevented tourists from staying overnight at lodges and hotels within the park. Year-round residents were asked to conserve water.

A flood watch was in effect. Visiting the Grand Canyon — a crown jewel of the national park system — can be particularly dangerous in the summer because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon, or rainy season. Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours.

“With deep monsoonal moisture in place and already saturated soils in some locations, an elevated risk of flash flooding will be in place through Monday,” the National Weather Service said early Monday.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the National Park Service said without providing additional details.

The flooding Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona Department of Public Safety helped with additional evacuations Sunday.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.

Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling Saturday.

“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.

Later, as they made their way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted “Up, Up, Up, Up!” as a 4-foot (1-meter) debris wall headed toward them and they ran up into a patch of cacti, he said. They were rescued by helicopter late Saturday after making it to the Phantom Ranch area, he said.

Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood was a major blow to an enduring effort to modernize the pipeline that serves 6 million visitors a year and roughly 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

“Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “Where are they going to get the money?”

Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline frequently has failed over the years. While the Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for potable water on the South Rim, they won’t be refilled while the pipeline is out of service.

A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.

Stengle reported from Dallas. Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles also contributed.

This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)

This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)

Bright Angel Creek near the Phantom Ranger Station in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, is seen after flash flooding from storms, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Parth Desai via AP)