How ACR turns live sports and political moments into local reach

ACR turns sports and political moments into sustained local reach for your campaign
‍Live sports and political campaigns have always been big-league advertising arenas. They attract passionate audiences and drive record viewership. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) is changing how advertisers can maximize their investment in these tentpole moments.

What is ACR and why does it matter locally?
‍ACR is a technology that identifies what’s playing on a screen, whether it’s Sunday’s big game, a mayoral debate, or last night’s talk show. Integrated into a demand-side platform (DSP) like Madhive’s, ACR lets advertisers target or retarget specific households based on what they actually watch.

For local advertisers, this is a powerful reach extension tool. You can build audiences from real viewership in your own community—and stretch budgets by reaching the right households across Connected TV (CTV), mobile, and more, after the initial broadcast has ended.

Live sports: extending the hometown fan rally 
‍Sports aren’t just about the teams. They’re about the communities behind them. ACR makes it possible for local advertisers to extend the impact of their media buys and connect with fans in authentic, cost-efficient ways:

• Retarget households that tuned into regional broadcasts of hometown teams to extend reach beyond the in-game placement
• Extend messaging into the days after a game, when excitement is still high in local markets
• Reach fans across CTV, mobile, and display, long after the final whistle
• Maximize the value of every live buy by targeting engaged local audiences who have already demonstrated interest

This means the neighborhood auto dealer or family-owned restaurant can ride the same playoff buzz as national brands by ensuring their message continues to resonate with local fans. 

Anthony Campanella, Madhive's VP of Inventory and Partnerships states, “With partnerships that we've been able to establish here at Madhive, we can buy programmatic guarantees at the local level, and now you have an array of ways that you're actually able to purchase.”

Political campaigns: complimenting the core buy
‍For political campaigns, relevance is everything. Whether you’re running city council, state senate, or congressional races, getting your message in front of the right voters is critical. ACR helps campaigns solidify and extend their core reach:

• Retarget voters who tuned into debates or local political coverage to ensure continued message exposure
• Conquest audiences exposed to competitor ads in your district
• Build voter segments based on local news preferences and viewership habits
• Control frequency to boost visibility where it counts most, especially among high-value viewers identified through ACR

ACR levels the playing field, giving local races access to the same precision tools that national campaigns use—scaled to the communities that matter most—by amplifying the impact of every impression. 

Murphy VandeMotter, Director of Data Partnerships at Madhive, underscores how ACR is transforming campaign precision and audience engagement:

“ACR enables campaigns to engage audiences based on what they’ve actually watched. For example, if a voter tuned in to a rival candidate’s ad, that household can be ‘conquested’ with counter-messaging. If someone streamed last year’s debates, they can be retargeted with fresh creative reinforcing key positions.”

“This ability to tailor exposure and manage frequency to avoid fatigue means campaigns no longer have to choose between scale and efficiency.”

With political ad spend expected to exceed $10.8 billion in 2026, successful campaigns are leveraging smarter data, trusted local environments, and omnichannel strategies to reach voters. You can learn more in Madhive's Political Guide, "The Local Edge."

Why it works: omnichannel reach, local impact
‍The real power of ACR comes when insights flow across channels. By pairing ACR with Madhive’s platform, advertisers can extend campaigns from the TV screen to mobile devices, desktops, and even audio.

For local businesses, that means being where your customers already are—whether they’re watching their team at home, scrolling on their phone after the game, or streaming podcasts on their commute.

For campaigns, it means making sure every impression hits the right sports fan, the right voters in the right congressional district—without wasted spend.

Smarter local strategies with Madhive ACR
‍Through direct partnerships with TiVo, Samba TV, and Inscape, Madhive makes it easy to access high-quality ACR audiences directly in-platform. Layer these signals with geography, demographics, or behavioral data, and you’ve got a recipe for smarter, more precise campaigns that speak to your local market and maximize your existing media investment.

Final thought
‍Local advertisers can amplify their impact during high-impact moments like baseball season, the Olympics or during election cycles. ACR makes it possible to extend reach to engaged audiences in smarter, more efficient ways—before, during, and especially after the big events that bring communities together.

Madhive helps advertisers do what they do best: show up where it matters most—locally.

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