The 2026 World Cup marks an ongoing transformation in the media investment priorities of Brazilian companies. The success of , like CazéTV, is the most visible face of a movement to expand spending on online advertising that is expected to continue in the coming years.
From 2021 to 2025, investments in digital media grew at a compound rate of around 12.4% per year, above the 8.8% recorded by the advertising market as a whole, according to a report from Itaú BBA. According to the bank’s projections, the total invested in online advertising should jump from US$8.9 billion last year to US$16.3 billion by 2030, which represents annual growth of around 12.9%.
A relevant part of this volume is migrating to broadcasts of major sporting events. One of the reasons is simple: digital-native platforms entered a cycle of purchasing broadcasting rights, naturally expanding the sponsorship possibilities on these channels.
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But the broader movement of funding from traditional media, such as linear television, to the internet involves several other factors.
“This World Cup marks an important change in the way brands relate to major sporting events”, says iFood’s Vice President of Marketing, Ana Gabriela Lopes. “The model is no longer exclusively based on media buying and becomes much more guided by participation, experience and content.”
Although he doesn’t reveal numbers, Lopes says that most of the company’s investment today is concentrated in digital video and streaming, followed by proprietary media, social networks and influencers and, only then, by linear television and brand experiences. According to her, investment in digital media has been growing consistently in recent years.
This reading is supported by the Itaú BBA report. According to the bank, TV’s share of advertising spending is expected to fall from around 33% in 2021 to 20% in 2030. “In practice, almost every incremental dollar in the advertising market over the next five years will be digital,” write the study’s authors.
Measurement and AI enhance the look at digital advertising
The perception that the language of sports broadcasts on the internet has been more efficient in connecting with consumers is widely shared. Still, the superior ability to measure results and even the popularization of artificial intelligence help explain the growing preference for digital alternatives.
“It has always been a dilemma to advertise on the nine o’clock soap opera. You impact millions of people, but there is always the doubt about how many of them are actually watching”, says the vice president of sales and marketing at programmatic media company Adsplay, Eduardo Abreu.
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On digital platforms, brands can measure indicators such as views, engagement, clicks, conversions and consumer behavior in real time. For a company like iFood, integration with the delivery app itself allows you to follow the user’s complete journey, from exposure to content to concrete actions, such as ordering, redeeming offers and purchasing products.
The predominance of online investments even attracted traditional linear TV companies, such as Globo. In 2025, the broadcaster launched ge tv, a YouTube channel that follows the rise of initiatives such as CazéTV.
Data from Kantar Ibope Media’s Cross Platform View shows that the share of online video — including streaming platforms and YouTube — in total household video consumption rose from 26% in 2023 to around 37% by April 2026. In the same period, linear TV fell from approximately 74% to 63%. Alone, the .
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Another factor that increases the relevance of live broadcasts of major sporting events for advertisers is the reduction in the cost of content production promoted by generative artificial intelligence. “After all, the live, simultaneous and emotionally engaged audience that sports mobilize is one of the few media assets that AI cannot replicate,” says the Itaú BBA report.
“As a result, we believe that this market should gain traction in Brazil in the coming years, as it offers a unique combination of passion for football and digitalization”, concludes the study.
