Nearly two-thirds of sports content is consumed via streaming, but repetitive ads are frustrating fans
During the 2024 NBA playoffs, the first bar of Rae Sremmurd’s “No Flex Zone” sent me scrambling for the mute button. The 2014 hip-hop favorite is the soundtrack to an inescapable Wingstop ad that played constantly during the playoffs and continues to show up in a high percentage of the commercial breaks I’m served on streaming services like Max and NBA League Pass.
Many sports fans share my ire for Wingstop’s “No Flex Zone” ad. Spots by telecom giant AT&T and insurance company Liberty Mutual (pictured) were equally ubiquitous, and the repeated serving of those ads was memed to death during the playoffs.
The sports fans tortured by the LiMu Emu (and Doug) are victims of misaligned frequency caps, which have become an all-too-common issue on streaming platforms that include ads. As more live sports begin broadcasting on streaming hubs, high frequency caps are threatening to frustrate viewers while also limiting value for advertisers.
Research has shown that ad frequency imbalances cut into sales figures in the long run. The damage to an overserved advertiser’s reputation could be even worse. Just take a look at the first autocomplete suggestion that shows up beneath “liberty mutual” search term:
