Author: Rob Weitkamp, Director of Digital Sales, TEGNA

Summer is prime time for health and wellness. Consumers are scheduling appointments, exploring treatments, and investing in preventive care. For healthcare marketers, it's a key moment to engage consumers actively researching their care options.

Reaching those audiences requires meeting consumers wherever they're watching. Marketers need strategies that can deliver both scale and accountability. That's where Converged TV comes in, helping brands engage high-intent consumers across viewing environments while providing greater visibility into campaign performance.

That shift is reflected in advertising investment. Local OTT healthcare advertising spending is projected to reach $414 million in 2026 and grow to $514 million by 2029, according to BIA Advisory Services.*

Healthcare consumers are already streaming. MRI-Simmons found that 90% of healthcare seekers watch ad-supported OTT. The same is true for 90% of adults who visited a healthcare professional in the past year, while 91% of telemedicine users and 92% of urgent care visitors are also reachable through ad-supported streaming.**

When streaming is combined with traditional television, that reach expands even further. MRI-Simmons found that 93% of healthcare seekers are reachable through a combined traditional and streaming Total TV strategy, underscoring the value of engaging audiences across viewing environments throughout the healthcare decision journey.**

That reach is particularly valuable because healthcare decisions are rarely made in a single moment. Whether choosing a provider, evaluating treatment options, or considering wellness services, consumers often spend time gathering information before taking the next step.

Streaming helps brands stay visible throughout that process. But reach is only part of the equation. Healthcare marketers need to drive action—whether that's encouraging consumers to learn more, visit a website, schedule an appointment, or contact a provider.

Here again, streaming audiences stand out. According to MRI-Simmons, 92% of adults who made a doctor's appointment after viewing an advertisement watch ad-supported OTT. Similarly, 91% of adults who visited a health information website after seeing an ad are also reachable through streaming environments. In fact, 95% of adults who obtained information about an ailment or prescription drug from a television advertisement watch ad-supported OTT.**

As healthcare consumers move across screens throughout the decision-making process, marketers need strategies that can keep pace. That's why Converged TV has become an increasingly important part of the healthcare marketing mix. It gives brands a more effective way to engage high-intent audiences, drive measurable actions, and better understand what's influencing patient decisions—an advantage that's especially valuable in healthcare categories where consumers carefully evaluate providers, services, and costs before making a decision.

How Audience Precision Improved Results for a Cosmetic Dentistry Brand

For cosmetic dentistry providers, attracting new patients often starts long before an appointment is booked. One such provider partnered with Premion to increase awareness and attract prospective patients researching dental implants and dentures. To identify the most effective audience strategy, the campaign tested multiple audience segments, including consumers interested in dentures and implants as well as a financially qualified audience with both dental implant interest and mid-to-high credit scores.

Over the course of the three-month campaign, Premion delivered more than 476,000 impressions and drove 2,611 attributed unique website visitors. Website attribution analysis revealed that the financially qualified audience generated a visitor rate more than twice as high as the broader dental implant audience, demonstrating the value of combining healthcare intent signals with financial qualification data.

The campaign demonstrates the value of Converged TV for engaging consumers who are actively considering a service and more likely to take action. For healthcare brands focused on patient growth, reaching the right audience is critical to driving stronger engagement, more qualified prospects, and performance-driven results.

As consumers research providers, evaluate treatment options, and move across screens, marketers need strategies that can keep pace. Converged TV offers a powerful combination of reach, precision, and accountability, helping health and wellness brands engage high-intent audiences and drive measurable outcomes.

For more insights, download our 2026 Healthcare Marketing Total TV Playbook.

*Source: BIA Advisory Services, March 2026

 **Source: MRI-Simmons, 2026 March Cord Evolution Study; © MRI-Simmons 2026. The data herein derives from a confidential, proprietary syndicated product owned by GfK US 

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