The New Reality of Tentpole Advertising in a Streaming Olympics

When we look at how Canadian brands showed up around Milano-Cortina, the storytelling stood out. Emotion over spectacle. Ritual over hype.

But the bigger shift may not be in the creative. It may be in how Canadians are watching.

To explore that shift, Marketing News Canada spoke with Ivan Pehar, Director of Ad Sales at Roku Canada, about what this Olympic cycle is revealing about tentpole advertising in a streaming-first Canada.

“Streaming Is No Longer Supplemental. It’s Central.”

According to Pehar, Canadian Olympic viewing behaviour is expanding well beyond traditional broadcast windows.

“Canadians are increasingly embracing flexible, streaming-first ways to engage with the Olympics,” he says. “While live events remain central, audiences are no longer limiting their viewing to fixed broadcast moments. Viewers are catching highlights after work, rewatching key moments, and diving deeper into athlete-driven storytelling on their own schedules.”

That behaviour reflects a broader shift in sports consumption. More than half of Canadians now stream at least one sports league, according to GWI. In other words, streaming is no longer an add-on. It is becoming the primary access point.

“The Olympics are being treated as a full-day, multi-format entertainment experience,” Pehar adds. “It’s live viewing blended with on-demand content across platforms.”

For marketers, that changes the duration and depth of opportunity.

The Big Screen Still Wins Cultural Moments

While viewing has fragmented across formats, Pehar notes that the living room screen continues to anchor culturally significant events.

“Connected TV has become a primary destination for high-attention moments like the Olympics,” he says. “Sixty-four percent of Canadians say watching TV on the living room screen offers a better viewing experience than other devices.”

From Roku’s vantage point, engagement during the Olympics reinforces CTV’s role as the intersection of live spectacle and modern streaming behaviour. Audiences expect flexibility, but they still gravitate toward immersive, shared viewing environments when the stakes feel national.

The behaviour may be more flexible. The emotional weight of the moment has not changed.

From One Exposure to Multi-Pass Engagement

Another pattern Pehar highlights is what he describes as “multi-pass engagement.”

“Canadians might start with a live event on the big screen, then revisit highlights on demand, explore commentary, or watch related content later in the day, all within the same connected ecosystem,” he explains.

Nearly 70 percent of Canadians say they do not care who makes the content as long as they can find it in one place. Convenience and discovery are shaping how audiences move between formats.

For brands, this creates something different from the traditional tentpole buy. Instead of a single, high-impact placement, marketers can now think in terms of sustained household presence across multiple moments.

Planning for a Crowded 2026 Calendar

Looking ahead, Pehar believes marketers should be thinking beyond one marquee event.

“The biggest takeaway is that attention during major global events is both deeply engaged and increasingly fragmented,” he says. “With moments like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup converging in 2026, brands need to think beyond the live spot.”

Streaming environments allow marketers to extend relevance before, during, and after key moments, through repeat exposure and on-demand placements.

The opportunity, as Pehar sees it, is not just about reaching viewers during the event itself. It is about staying present wherever and whenever audiences choose to engage.

As Canadian brands continue to refine how they show up in culturally significant moments, the lesson from this Olympic cycle is clear. Tentpole events are no longer defined by a single broadcast window. They live across screens, across schedules, and across households.

And that evolution may be just as important as the stories being told within them.

About Ivan:

Ivan Pehar, Director, Ad Sales, Canada, joined Roku in 2004, bringing more than 25 years of extensive experience in strategic digital marketing and brand building to the Roku team. Pehar was previously the Head of Canada Ad Sales at Spotify, where he played a pivotal role in developing their go-to-market strategy for Canadian brands. Prior to Spotify, Pehar spearheaded Twitter’s Canadian office as Head of Revenue and Agency Partnerships, advocating for the integration of social media into marketing strategies. His career spans across renowned platforms including Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL, where he crafted innovative solutions bridging traditional and digital media.