Anna Palmer took a look at why ads on ESPN in America have become increasingly political:

• Obama and other top White House officials are known to be avid sports fans, watching several live sporting events.
• Industry groups and lobbyists that want the White House to be aware of important issues buy time on ESPN to discretely target the President.
• The ads have to be subtle – it can’t be obvious that Obama and his team are the target.
• The ads themselves aren’t that expensive. While those that run across the nation can cost up to $20,000 those that are only seen in Washington cost $750-$1000 per ad.
• ESPN has other advantages as an advertising platform – it’s one of the few forms of television that people want to watch live – along with the associated live ads.

Read more about the companies that are trying to use ESPN to advocate for specific causes, what ESPN has done to encourage it, and more over here.

Source: Politico