How To Make Money with Live Sports on Streaming with Scott Young, Co-Founder of Transmit

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In this episode of the State of Streaming podcast, host Tim Rowe welcomes Scott Young, Co-founder at Transmit, a company reshaping the monetization landscape for live sports and streaming. Their conversation explores how the traditional cable revenue model is deteriorating and how publishers are pivoting to new ad formats to fill the gap. They discuss the mechanics of non-disruptive advertising, the technology behind "picture-in-picture" ads during live events, and how rights holders can generate significant incremental revenue without annoying the viewer.

Here are three key takeaways from their conversation that highlight the future of live sports monetization:

Solving the Post-Cable Economics

Scott Young breaks down the collapse of the reliable "cable bundle" revenue stream and why subscription fees alone can no longer support media rights holders. He reveals how Transmit’s technology allows publishers to unlock 20-30% incremental revenue by monetizing "lulls" in the action rather than just relying on standard ad breaks.

• 01:11 - The deteriorating economic model: Why the "easy" days of cable revenue are over.
• 03:32 - Why standard ad pods are failing both advertisers and viewers.
• 09:26 - The numbers: How publishers are seeing a 20-30% revenue lift and driving 4X ROAS.

The End of Disruptive Advertising

Scott explains how Transmit moves beyond traditional commercials by using algorithms to identify specific moments in a game, like a foul shot or a timeout to serve contextually relevant ads. This approach prioritizes the viewer experience, ensuring ads feel like an extension of the broadcast rather than an interruption.

• 06:43 - Mapping the "Right Moment": Identifying lulls in NBA and live sports action.
• 08:00 - The missing piece: Why we have great targeting data but terrible ad templates.
• 13:42 - The "Squeezeback" effect: How L-bar and picture-in-picture ads work in practice.

2026 is the Golden Era for Live Sports & FAST

Looking ahead, Scott and Tim discuss why 2026 will be a turning point year for the industry, driven by the the World Cup and the Olympics. They also explore the massive untapped potential of FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels as OEMs like Samsung and Vizio take more control of the interface.

• 15:05 - The 2026 explosion: Preparing for the World Cup and Olympics in North America.
• 17:37 - The rise of FAST: Why OEMs are the sleeping giants of live sports distribution.
• 14:30 - Beyond sports: Bringing non-disruptive ads to SVOD and subscription tiers.

Connect with Scott Young on LinkedIn here!

Learn more about Transmit at Transmit.live.