Local advertisers will soon find it easier to secure coveted air time in live sports. Madhive, in partnership with FOX Television Stations, has expanded its Local Live Sports Marketplace, a platform designed to provide turnkey access to exclusive premium sports programming across connected TV.
Madhive, the self-described unified operating system for local media, today announced a major expansion of its Local Live Sports Marketplace through a strategic partnership with FOX Television Stations. The collaboration aims to broaden opportunities for local businesses by offering simplified, centralized access to premium live sports advertising inventory.
The marketplace opens the door for advertisers to run campaigns across more than 16 sports products that bring record levels of audience engagement. That includes marquee programming such as Monday Night Football, the NFL, NBA matchups, NHL coverage, Major League Baseball, and NCAA games. The service is also supported by Madhive’s status as a Disney Live+ Certified partner, ensuring integration with some of the most in-demand sports content on television.
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The expanded solution sits within FOX’s FLX targeting platform, which focuses on delivering unmatched access to premium connected TV live sports programming. Through this partnership, FOX Television Stations will leverage Madhive’s technology to make some of its most valuable live sports offerings available to local advertisers. Among the highlights are rights to live NCAA college football games shown on FS1, a package considered highly desirable given its large, passionate audiences.
“Starting with our exclusive local rights to the NFL on FOX, live sports have always been at the heart of the FOX Television Stations portfolio. We are excited to deliver this enhanced opportunity to local advertisers,” said Michael Page, Senior Vice President of Digital Sales at FOX Television Stations. “With FLX’s exclusive access to premium inventory and our advanced targeting capabilities, every local advertiser can now align with the biggest sporting moments in a cost-efficient and highly effective way.”
Leveling the Playing Field for Local Advertisers
Live sports are often described as the last bastion of truly engaged viewing, where fans tune in for critical must-watch moments. For many small and mid-sized advertisers, access to that space has typically been reserved for those able to navigate complex buying processes or pay premium prices. Madhive President Jim Wilson said the new marketplace corrects that imbalance by consolidating inventory into one trusted location.
“Live sports represent the pinnacle of engaged, appointment viewing, offering an exciting opportunity for local advertisers to reach fans in real time,” Wilson said. “Our Local Live Sports Marketplace, combined with our Fraud Free Guarantee, changes that equation, creating a single, trusted platform that unlocks access to the moments fans care about most. Together, these innovations level the playing field and empower local businesses to tap into the biggest moments in sports.”
Enhanced Targeting With AI Intelligence
Madhive is also building additional technological layers into the system. The company announced that it will integrate Maverick AI, its enterprise intelligence solution, directly within the sports marketplace. Maverick AI is designed to analyze content signals and behavioral patterns, helping advertisers deliver campaigns that reflect fan interests and habits.
The AI does more than identify broad audience segments. By isolating local and regional viewership patterns, it enables businesses to simplify cross-channel campaign planning for live events. This makes it easier to reach otherwise difficult-to-find households that consistently watch sports in real time, a particularly valuable trait given that live sports remain one of the few content types still consumed primarily at the moment of broadcast.
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Forging a New Model for Local TV Advertising
For FOX Television Stations, the partnership reinforces a longstanding commitment to sports while adapting to the new realities of streaming and connected TV. For Madhive, it marks another evolution of its platform into a hub that not only simplifies inventory access but also modernizes how advertisers measure effectiveness, maintain brand security, and use AI to sharpen targeting.
By combining FOX’s exclusive live sports portfolio with Madhive’s marketplace model and AI‑driven optimization tools, both companies aim to make one of television’s most prized advertising categories accessible to local businesses. For advertisers, the expansion presents an opportunity to connect with audiences during the cultural moments that matter most, from nail-biting playoff runs to high‑profile rivalry games.
As consumer viewing habits continue to shift toward connected TV, solutions like the Local Live Sports Marketplace suggest a path where premium moments are no longer reserved solely for big national brands. Instead, the local restaurant, car dealership, or retail chain can sit alongside household names during the most watched events of the week.
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