Same Board. Different Ad. Exploring Parallel Advertising.
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Same Board. Different Ad. Exploring Parallel Advertising.
The NHL has spent four seasons proving that one physical ad board can carry dozens of messages, all at once.
You’ve probably seen it without knowing what it’s called.
A goal lights the lamp, and from the bar you’re watching at in New York, you see the rinkside board flip to Norwegian Cruise Line. But for a fan in Toronto, watching the same faceoff, they see an ad for a bank on those same boards.
That’s parallel advertising, and it isn’t a pilot program or a slide in someone’s trends deck. European football has used it on international feeds for years, but the NHL has taken it further. Since the 2022–23 season, it has run in every game, in every arena, for every team in the league.
The World Cup this summer put the practice on the largest international stage, and with the start of the 2026–27 NHL season approaching in September, we’re reminded of the practice again. So US brands shouldn’t be asking whether this is real. They should be asking why they aren’t in it yet.
How It Actually Works
The technology is called Virtual Board Replacement (VBR). AI-powered software finds the physical boards in the broadcast frame and places a different ad over them in real time. Because this happens separately for each feed, every network, market, and territory can see its own message on the same board at the same moment.
The NHL calls its version Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards (DED). It was built with Supponor, which TGI Sport acquired in 2024 for roughly $100 million. Everything runs from a central hub, so the boards in all 32 arenas are programmed remotely with no crew on site. According to ESPN, the inventory breaks down like this:
- Five zones per rink: behind each net, plus three across center ice, each sold separately
- 30-second increments tied to the game clock, with 120 available per game
- A clean feed with no virtual ads, for broadcast partners that require one
The biggest upgrade arrived in 2024–25 with moment-based takeovers. Instead of buying a slot in the rotation, a brand can own the entire board wrap the instant something specific happens: the opening faceoff, the first goal, a power play, overtime. Norwegian Cruise Line went first, taking over the boards league-wide on ESPN and TNT every time the opening goal is scored. The brand isn’t buying airtime anymore. It’s buying a moment of truth.
Where Each League Stands
NHL: The Clear Starting Point
No other US league runs parallel advertising in every game, and the results show up in the numbers. In the first season, more than 700 brands bought DED inventory, and team sponsorship revenue jumped 21% to $1.28 billion. It has kept climbing since: $1.4 billion in 2023–24, $1.53 billion in 2024–25 and a record $1.7 billion last season. Sports Business Journal estimates DED adds a mid-eight-figure boost each year on top of what the old fixed boards earned.
The strongest use case is the border. Because the NHL plays in both countries, a brand can run one message on ESPN or TNT in the US and another on Sportsnet or CBC in Canada, from the same board at the same moment. That used to require buying rights in each market separately. This summer’s World Cup, played across the US, Canada and Mexico, showed how often live audiences cross borders. Parallel advertising lets one board speak to each of them.
Sportsbooks figured this out quickly. With DED, a sportsbook can advertise in states where it’s licensed and stay invisible where it isn’t, all from a single board.
MLS: Growing, with a Question Mark
MLS has virtual perimeter ads at some venues through TGI Sport. Its Apple TV deal, worth about $250 million a year, keeps broadcast rights under one roof, which makes virtual inventory easier to sell. The catch is that the deal, originally set for 10 years, was revised in late 2025 to end after 2029. With three seasons left, no one knows yet how virtual inventory will be packaged in the next deal. For now, buys go through TGI Sport or individual clubs.
NBA: Different Surface, Same Idea
Basketball doesn’t have dasherboards, but the NBA has invested heavily in virtual courtside signage: the scorer’s table, baseline LED strips and logos on the court itself. Its partnership with Meta streams 52 games a season in 180-degree VR, which creates ad space that doesn’t exist in the arena at all. Buys go through NBA Global Partnerships or individual teams’ local broadcast deals.
NFL: Furthest Behind, Biggest Upside
The most valuable media property in American sports is also the furthest behind, and the reason is structural. NFL games are split across NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime. Getting five competing broadcasters onto one virtual ad system is far harder than anything the NHL had to solve.
That won’t last forever. The US sports TV ad market is on track to approach $25 billion by 2027, much of it driven by the NFL, and the league has been pushing to reopen its media deals early. As of August, Fox said it won’t renegotiate before its 2030 opt-out. Whenever the next round of deals happens, it’s the natural moment for virtual inventory to arrive.
What It Costs
DED is sold in 30-second increments across five zones, 120 per game, and pricing is negotiated as part of broader sponsorship packages. Four things move the price:
- National vs. local feed. ESPN and TNT cost significantly more than regional sports networks.
- Zone. Behind-the-net placements get more screen time, so they cost more.
- Moment vs. rotation. Takeovers tied to moments like the first goal are premium add-ons.
- Season vs. single game. Season packages come with better rates.
For a rough sense of scale, DED’s mid-eight-figure first-year impact was spread across more than 700 brands. That works out to an average in the high five figures per brand. The average hides a wide range, since a national sportsbook and a regional credit union aren’t writing the same check. It still makes the point: this isn’t reserved for the Fortune 50, and it’s far easier to get into than comparable inventory in European football.
Who It Works For
Brands selling on both sides of the border. Run different creative in the US and Canada from one board, without buying rights twice.
Sportsbooks and other regulated categories. Appear only in the markets where you’re allowed to advertise.
Auto, finance and CPG brands with regional offers. Match pricing, promotions or product lines to each broadcast market.
Brands that want to own a moment. Take over the first goal, overtime or a power play: live, in the broadcast and impossible to skip.
Challenger brands. Show up in premium broadcasts for a fraction of what a traditional 30-second spot costs.
Destinations and DMOs. Reach Canadian travelers on the Canadian feed without buying Canadian rights.
So What?
Parallel advertising already works in the US, and most agencies still aren’t bringing it to their clients. The NHL has built the most advanced version in North American sports. Team sponsorship revenue is up about 60% from the season before launch, and the technology can now react to live moments as they happen.
It also won’t stay this open for long. The inventory is relatively uncrowded today, and that will change over the next three to five years as more brands catch on. If you’re working with a sports marketing budget of roughly $250,000 or more, now is the time. When the Carolina Hurricanes raise their championship banner against Florida on opening night, every board in that building can carry a different ad for every feed watching.
The brands that move first get the best ice.
