How brands become unmissable

Whether it’s a big game or a holiday movie night, Canadians are turning to streaming for the moments that matter most. But as content gets spread across more services, finding the right thing to watch is getting harder. That creates an opening for brands to do something genuinely helpful. When a brand helps viewers discover the content they already want, whether that is live sports or festive favourites, it can do more than drive attention. It can build affinity. 

That matters because streamers are not always sure where to start. Roku research shows that 72% face obstacles when choosing what to watch.¹ It also shows that it takes 12 minutes on average to decide what to watch, which can become a headache when fans are looking to find a live event right away. Lastly, 70% of Roku users agree ads that help them find TV content are useful.² In other words, content discovery is an essential tool to capture attention and drive engagement.

Sports moments

Live sports dominate search and viewership.  Audiences consumed over 89 million streams of Milano Cortina 2026 content on CBC/Radio's digital platforms, more than triple compared to Beijing 2022 (29 million).  Our research shows that 60% of Canadians now watch at least one sports league via TV streaming,³ while 78% of Roku sports streamers are completely unreachable through linear or cable TV sports programming.⁴ Roku users pose a big opportunity because they over-index across major league sports and 93% follow at least one sport.⁵ That is a big signal for advertisers: sports fans are already here, and the best way to reach them is in a streaming-first environment. 

  Promotional example for illustration purposes. 

But demand is scattered across a growing number of apps and platforms, making harder for fans to find the games they want and for brands to reach them consistently. Roku’s answer is the new Sports Zone, which brings together 70 distinct sports apps, into a single destination for live games, schedules, highlights and other premium sports content. This makes the experience effortless for viewers and highly valuable for brands. When a brand helps fans get to the content they love, it earns more than just views. In fact, 63% of Roku sports fans say they would like a brand more if it sponsored a zone to help them navigate sports content.⁵ Roku research also points to stronger lower-funnel impact among sports fans, with 53% more likely to be aware of brands that show up in sports content, 61% more likely to consider them, and 55% more likely to purchase from them.⁶

Seasonal moments

Sports isn't the only place viewers show up with this kind of intensity and predictability. Seasonal moments — from holidays to major cultural events — create the same spikes in attention, giving brands another calendar of high-engagement windows to plan around. Holiday streaming is an annual tradition. In Q4 2025, Canadian households logged 1.2 billion streaming hours on Roku, up 14% year over year.⁷ Audiences are also receptive to brands that understand the mood of the season: 67% preferring when brands focus on celebrating Christmas rather than just promoting products.⁸  

That is where brand experiences shine. By sponsoring curated holiday playlists, brands help viewers easily find top seasonal content. Roku’s Season’s Streaming users logged 95% more hours than the average Roku user, proving that curated holiday moments resonate with viewers and can hold real attention.⁷ Interactive ad placements allow viewers to simply scan a QR code or use their remote to enter their phone/email and learn more about the brand or claim an offer directly from their TV.

Roku research shows that 73% of Roku holiday celebrants find shoppable ad formats useful and average Christmas spend among Roku users reaches $742 CAD.⁸ For advertisers, that creates a rare overlap: people are streaming and shopping at the same time.

    Promotional example for illustration purposes. Subject to change. 

Roku Rewind curates a list of the year’s top content into a branded destination. During Canada’s 2025 Roku Rewind, 91% of households reached were unreachable by holiday programming in linear, and households streamed 66 minutes on average from the collection.⁷ That is a strong case for branded destinations that can organize, frame and make it easier to explore. 

Playlists can be customized around themes like romance, family, comedy or classic holiday favourites, each with its own tone and targeted audience. The common thread is that brands are woven into discovery instead of interrupting it.  

The biggest takeaway is that unmissable moments work because they align brand messaging with viewer intent. Audiences come to Roku in a positive, intentional mindset, and unmissable moments align with cultural relevance from the World Cup to the holidays while creating content hubs and experiences that resonate deeply with Canadian viewers. When brands meet that moment with something useful, relevant, and easy to engage with, they stop feeling like an ad break and start feeling like part of the experience. That is what makes a moment unmissable.

Ready to find your moment? Get in touch with our team to explore sponsorship opportunities or download our VOD Evolution 2026 Canada whitepaper to dig deeper into how Canadians stream.