Live signal CTV / STV / OTT

THE AUDIENCE
MOVED.
YOUR PLAN
SHOULD TOO.

A sourced field guide to the screens, formats, and buying practices reshaping television advertising.

01 / Market signal

Television did not disappear.
It became addressable.

Connected television combines the sight, sound, and motion of the largest screen in the home with digital audience controls, measurable delivery, and more precise outcomes.

Filter metrics

12 metrics shown

07
60%+
Digital share of TV and video spend

of U.S. TV and video ad spend is projected to be digital video in 2026

IAB, May 2026 outlook

Figures describe different populations, periods, and platform data sets. Open each source for methodology and scope.

02 / The Streaming TV Story

Television has changed.
Your advertising strategy should too.

Audiences are no longer watching television in one place, on one schedule, or through one provider. They are moving between smart TVs, streaming apps, live sports, premium programming, and on-demand content. Streaming TV gives advertisers a way to follow that shift while combining the emotional impact of television with the targeting, flexibility, and measurement of digital advertising.

Explore six reasons streaming television is becoming an essential part of the modern media plan.

  1. 01

    The Shift

    The audience has already moved.

    Television viewing is no longer defined by a cable subscription or a fixed programming schedule. Viewers are increasingly choosing what to watch, when to watch it, and which platform they use to access it.

    Streaming TV allows advertisers to remain present as these viewing habits evolve. Instead of relying only on traditional linear schedules, brands can reach viewers across connected TVs, streaming services, premium video environments, and live programming.

    Why it matters: A media strategy built only around linear television risks losing visibility as more viewing time moves to streaming platforms.

    The advantageFollow the audience without giving up the full-screen impact and storytelling power of television.

  2. 02

    The Reach

    Reach the households linear TV leaves behind.

    Traditional television can still deliver scale, but it may not reach every household a brand wants to influence. Cord-cutters, cord-nevers, light television viewers, and streaming-first households can be difficult to reach through a conventional TV plan alone.

    Streaming TV helps extend campaign reach across households that consume television differently. It can complement an existing linear campaign or serve as the primary television strategy for audiences that have already moved away from traditional viewing.

    Why it matters: More impressions do not always mean more unique viewers. Without streaming, advertisers may repeatedly reach the same traditional TV audience while missing valuable households entirely.

    The advantageAdd incremental reach, connect with harder-to-find viewers, and build a more complete television audience.

  3. 03

    The Precision

    Reach the right viewers, not just more viewers.

    Traditional television buying often relies on programs, networks, dayparts, and broad demographic assumptions. Streaming TV adds a deeper layer of audience intelligence.

    Campaigns can be built around location, interests, lifestyle characteristics, household attributes, purchase behavior, content preferences, first-party customer data, and other meaningful audience signals.

    This makes it possible to align television delivery more closely with the people most likely to care about the message.

    Why it matters: A campaign should not have to choose between television’s impact and digital advertising’s precision.

    The advantageReduce wasted exposure, improve message relevance, and focus investment on the households most likely to respond.

  4. 04

    The Experience

    Television is becoming a more powerful creative canvas.

    Streaming TV is more than a new way to deliver a traditional commercial. It creates opportunities for brands to build richer and more connected viewer experiences.

    Advertisers can use addressable creative, sequential messaging, interactive overlays, QR codes, shoppable formats, dynamic creative, and campaign storytelling that develops across multiple exposures.

    A viewer might first see a brand story, later receive a product-focused message, and finally see a direct call to action based on where they are in the customer journey.

    Why it matters: The strongest television campaigns do more than create awareness. They guide the viewer toward a meaningful next step.

    The advantageTurn passive exposure into a more relevant, memorable, and actionable brand experience.

  5. 05

    The Measurement

    See what happened after the ad was seen.

    Streaming TV gives advertisers a clearer view of campaign delivery and performance.

    Instead of relying only on estimated ratings, advertisers can evaluate reach, frequency, completed views, audience delivery, website activity, store visits, search behavior, conversions, and other measurable outcomes.

    These signals can be viewed as one connected journey, from the first impression to the final action.

    Why it matters: Advertisers need to understand not only how many people saw a campaign, but whether it influenced meaningful behavior.

    The advantageConnect television exposure to measurable results and make future campaigns smarter with every impression.

  6. 06

    The Advantage

    The power of television. The intelligence of digital.

    Streaming TV brings together the best qualities of two major advertising channels.

    It offers the sight, sound, motion, credibility, and emotional impact of television while adding the audience targeting, reporting, flexibility, and optimization associated with digital media.

    Campaigns can be adjusted as they run, creative can be matched to different audiences, and performance insights can be used to improve future strategy.

    Why it matters: Modern advertisers should not have to choose between brand impact and measurable performance.

    The advantageBuild television campaigns that are more precise, more flexible, more accountable, and better aligned with how people watch today.

One screen is no longer enough.

The strongest media plans reach audiences wherever television happens: across streaming apps, connected devices, premium programming, live events, and traditional broadcasts. Streaming TV does not eliminate the value of television.

03 / What buyers mean

Three terms.
One viewing shift.

STV

Streaming TV

The viewing behavior: long-form television delivered over the internet, on any compatible screen.

Streaming TV
CTV

Connected TV

The device: a smart TV or television connected through a streaming player, game console, or set-top box.

Connected TV
OTT

Over-the-top

The delivery method: video transmitted over the internet instead of through traditional cable or satellite infrastructure.

Over-the-top delivery

04 / Capability stack

Five jobs.
One connected system.

01 / Find the audience

Addressable households

Use household, content, behavioral, and market signals to move beyond broad demographic delivery.

Benefit: reduce avoidable waste while preserving television scale.
02 / Control delivery

Cross-publisher reach

Coordinate exposure across streaming publishers instead of optimizing each supply path in isolation.

Benefit: redirect repetition toward incremental households.
03 / Earn attention

Relevant full-screen creative

Pair premium video with sequential messages and context that reflect the viewer and the moment.

Benefit: make the television impression more useful and memorable.
04 / Create action

Interactive commerce

Use QR prompts, product galleries, overlays, and shoppable units to make the next step immediate.

Benefit: connect awareness to a measurable response path.
05 / Prove outcomes

Exposure-level measurement

Connect delivery to visits, scans, store activity, sales, or brand-lift evidence.

Benefit: give brand and performance teams one accountable view.

05 / Why it matters

Viewing time moved faster than budgets.

In 2024, U.S. adults spent 17.9% of their media time with CTV, while the channel received 7.4% of total media ad spend. The gap is a planning signal, not a promise of performance.

Read the Innovid report

06 / The 2026 signal

Three more signals
worth planning around.

Buyer adoption

Agentic AI is already inside the buy.

Two in three digital-video buyers are live, testing, or planning agentic AI use in 2026.

IAB, 2026 digital video outlook

Reach composition

Streaming adds reach a linear-only plan misses.

In Comcast's 1H 2025 campaign data, three-quarters of multiscreen reach still came from traditional TV, with streaming filling the rest.

6.8× more likely to reach light- and no-TV households
Comcast Advertising, 1H 2025

Format effect

Interactive formats change how ads are remembered.

Roku cites Kantar Millward Brown normative averages showing a lift in unaided brand recall when video ads are paired with interactive formats.

Roku + Dentsu, June 2025

Figures reflect each publisher's own campaign definitions and normative averages, not independent audits. Open each source for methodology.

07 / Buyer's path

From audience signal to business outcome.

Effective CTV buying is a connected system. Each decision shapes the reach, experience, and evidence that follows.

  1. 01

    Define the signal

    Start with the business outcome, audience, market, and moment that matter.

  2. 02

    Map the household

    Resolve audience signals into privacy-conscious household and device groups.

  3. 03

    Choose the screen mix

    Balance premium CTV, OTT, and companion channels around the viewing journey.

  4. 04

    Control exposure

    Coordinate reach and frequency across publishers instead of optimizing in silos.

  5. 05

    Read the outcome

    Connect exposure to visits, scans, sales, or brand lift, then improve the next flight.

08 / Visual coverage

One household.
Many response paths.

The television starts the story. Mobile, audio, web, and commerce surfaces can continue it when the experience is planned as one connected journey.

09 / Buying practices

Scale the signal.
Not the waste.

Inventory

Start with quality

Prioritize transparent supply paths, premium programming, and context that earns attention.

Frequency

Coordinate exposure

Innovid measured an average 7.09 frequency across campaigns in 2024. Manage repetition across the full buy.

Completion

Let the message land

Thirty-second CTV spots reached a 95.84% completion rate in Innovid's 2024 platform data.

FIELD
NOTE 10

Selected research

The opportunity is large.
The methodology still matters.

This showcase brings together market-level estimates, measured TV usage, household survey data, and platform delivery benchmarks. Those numbers should not be treated as interchangeable. Use them as directional evidence, then evaluate inventory, audience, and measurement against the specific brief.

Signal ready

Put every screen
in play.

Build a connected television brief around reach, relevance, and evidence.

Plan a brief