the due diligence desk

Before you buy in-game sports CTV: the rights questions

Resellers are selling local advertisers guaranteed ad slots inside specific live games, team by team and market by market. The University of Georgia says it never authorized the in-game Bulldogs placements being sold, and after six weeks of calls no league, team or network showed a relationship with the vendor behind them. The vendor's own reports show delivery patterns a buyer should be able to explain.

1. Who holds the in-game ad rights for this game, and can you show the written authorization that lets you sell them?

   Georgia's sports marketing arm says in-game ad rights sit with the network, ESPN and ABC for 2024, and that it authorized no reseller.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: The Field Kit: Live Sports Is CTV's Safest Buy. Georgia Says It Never Authorized the Game Being Sold.
2. Which league, team or network will confirm on the record that you can sell its inventory?

   None of the ten platforms Asellus names as inventory sources has confirmed a relationship on the record.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.
3. Will you run our deal IDs and third-party tags, and share break data from the network?

   Asellus told a buyer in writing it takes no deal IDs, no third-party tags and receives no break data.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.
4. Can you show our delivery by hour of the game, and explain any impressions that land after the game ends?

   In an Asellus 2025 NFL season report, 79 percent of impressions landed in the kickoff hour and about 3 percent after hour two.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.
5. Do your reports ever show completed views above impressions, and how do you reconcile those rows?

   A sample Asellus report shows 596 rows where completed views exceed impressions.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.
6. What does reserved or guaranteed inventory mean in our contract, and what happens if the spot does not air in that game?

   Cox pitched an Atlanta advertiser reserved inventory inside live Bulldogs games, and she turned it down because she knew it could not be guaranteed.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.
7. Will the network's own game-day logs back up your delivery report?

   A senior ESPN executive says ESPN is investigating, and networks have started pulling their own game-day logs.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: The Field Kit: Live Sports Is CTV's Safest Buy. Georgia Says It Never Authorized the Game Being Sold.
8. Is your company, or any reseller you use, under a regulator order covering how it describes its ad services?

   Cox paid $880,000 under a 20-year FTC order, finalized August 2026, barring misrepresentation of its ad services.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Cox Promised Ads Inside the Bulldogs Game. Even the Buyer Knew Better.

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