• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Automakers spent $2.31 billion on estimated national TV spending in 2025, down 10.1% from $2.57 billion in 2024, according to iSpot.tv.

Household TV ad impressions also fell to 209.4 billion, down 17.9% from 254.9 billion in 2024.

The top five brands by estimated national TV ad spending in 2025 were Hyundai ($230.3 million), Chevrolet ($187.9 million), Jeep ($174.8 million), Toyota ($149.2 million) and Kia ($139.8 million), according to iSpot.tv. 

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions in 2025 were Hyundai (10.04%), Toyota (8.99%), Lexus (7.83%), Chevrolet (6.87%) and Kia (6.47%).

The top five brands by share of voice on streaming were Hyundai (11.36%), Jeep (9.97%), Ram Trucks (8.58%), Nissan (6.74%) and Toyota (6.55%), according to iSpot.tv.

The top programs for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions were NFL (11.11%), college football (6.22%), NBA (5.39%), MLB (4.72%) and men’s college basketball (3.79%).

Nearly 40% of total auto industry outlay in 2025 went toward the NFL, with men’s college basketball a distant second for investment (8.11% spend SOV). Top non-sports-related programming by industry spend included The Academy Awards (0.57%), "The Big Bang Theory" (0.51%) and "Today" (0.38%). 

Of the top five brands by spend, Chevrolet leaned into the NFL the most, allocating nearly 63% of its total budget for the year to games. Kia focused more on the NBA than the NFL (28% vs. 14% of total spend.)

Eight of the top 10 programs by auto industry reach in 2025 were sports-related.

Auto impressions during NFL games declined by 3.3% year-over-year and college football was down 0.4%, while the NBA was up 16.7%, MLB auto impressions increased by 20.5% and men’s college basketball saw reach grow by 6.7%.

“Sports remained a clear priority for automakers at the end of 2025, with brands leaning into traditional TV’s most dependable programming to drive broad reach,”  Stuart Schwartzapfel, executive vice president of media partnerships at iSpot, tells Marketing Daily. “Meanwhile, news programming stands out as an underutilized channel, with limited automotive ad presence even as it continues to attract a sizable portion of in-market car shoppers.”

Top non-sports-related programming included "The Big Bang Theory" (No. 8, with impressions up 20.4% vs. 2024), "House Hunters" (No. 10, with impressions decreasing by 9.8% YoY), "Today" (No. 11, impressions down 41.2%), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (No. 12, impressions down 37.8%) and "CBS Mornings" (No. 13, impressions up 29.3%).

The top programs most likely to reach auto intenders were NFL (71.50%), college football (54.42%), MLB (48.04%), men’s college basketball (46.32%) and NBA (41.51%).

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions were  Genesis: No Old Ideas (1.13%), Buick: Now Is Exceptional (1.01%), Kia: Elevated by the Dark (0.84%), Genesis: Holiday Window (0.80%) and Hyundai: Therapist (0.76%). 

The top automaker ads by likeability per iSpot.tv were Lexus: Over the Years (+14.9% more likeable than 2025 automotive norm), Lexus: Dogs (+14.7%), Genesis: Holiday Window (+13.5%), Toyota: Into the Wild (+12.8%) and Jeep: How Summer Rolls (+12.3%).

The top automaker ads by positive purchase intent were Cadillac: Nights Like These: OPTIQ (70%), Acura: Match Your Energy (67%), Audi: The Road Is Calling (62%), Chevrolet: This Is Who We Are (62%) and Hyundai: Blind Spot (60%).