Yahoo is having a big year, and it feels like it just got bigger. The company, which operates its own media and advertising business (Yahoo Ads) and media-buying adtech platform (Yahoo DSP), has launched its first-ever free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, the Yahoo Sports Network.
According to Yahoo, the new channel will deliver more than 60 hours of original programming each week, covering all major sports leagues from the NFL to the NBA. Key shows will include Yahoo Sports Daily, Yahoo Fantasy Forecast, The Ariel Helwani Show, and The Kevin O’Connor Show.
The Yahoo Sports Network is already available (!) on LG Channels and Sling Freestream, with launches on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Fire TV, Fubo, Plex, Prime Video, and The Roku Channel coming soon.
Why This Matters:
Sports content is among the most valuable assets in streaming. Global streaming platforms spent $10 billion on sports rights in 2024, a massive jump from $2.8 billion just five years earlier. This figure is projected to exceed $11 billion in 2025, accounting for nearly a quarter of the global sports rights market. In the U.S. alone, spending on streaming sports rights is expected to hit $12.5 billion next year.
At the same time, FAST channels are booming. EMARKETER has found that number of active FAST channels has exploded by 42% globally since 2023, exceeding 1,610 channels.
Yahoo’s move, of course, leverages its premium sports content library and brings it into a FAST format for the biggest screen in the home. They’re covering two bases — forgive our sports pun — sports and FAST content that are in demand by advertisers.
Experts React:
Here are a few interesting posts from X about the launch:
FAST also presents a great targeting opportunity, per GumGum’s CTO, Ken Weiner, who spoke about the “mindset” opportunity across these channels during a panel at Cannes: “If you look at some of the FAST channels… you can kind of make assumptions about what the people that are watching might be into or what kind of mindset they’re in.”
Our Take:
The streaming conversation is often dominated by live game rights, but fan-focused and analysis-driven content may prove just as valuable for engaging audiences, and at a much lower cost. Yahoo’s strategy shows that FAST channels can capture highly engaged, leaned-in sports fans. This is not a “tune-out” audience — it’s one advertisers will be eager to reach.
AdTechRadar is owned by Chris Harihar, who leads PR at Mod Op. Yahoo and GumGum are Mod Op clients.
