• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Automakers spent an estimated $105.2 million on national linear TV in May, down 32% compared to $155.6 million in May 2025.

Year-to-date spending is also down 22% — $857 million vs. $1.1 billion, according to iSpot.tv.

Household TV ad impressions also fell in May, down 11% to 16.1 billion vs. 18.2 billion in May 2025. Year-to-date impressions are down 17% to 76.1 billion compared to 92 billion a year ago. 

The top five brands by estimated national linear TV ad spending in May were Kia ($12 million), Hyundai ($10.4 million), Subaru ($9.4 million), Lexus ($8.7 million) and Toyota ($7.5 million), according to iSpot.tv.

NBA games accounted for over 31% of auto industry spend in May, followed by the NHL (4.41% spend SOV). Four of the top five prioritized the NBA. Subaru was the outlier, instead focusing outlay toward Today, Good Morning America and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions were Toyota (11.06%), Hyundai (9.21%), Chevrolet (7.56%), Lexus (7.55%) and Subaru (6.57%), according to iSpot.tv.

The top five brands by share of voice on streaming were Hyundai (10.04%), Toyota (7.63%), Volkswagen (7.32%), Jeep (7.22%) and Ram Trucks (7.22%).

The top programs for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions were NBA (14.90%), MLB (5.53%), NHL (3.26%), PGA Tour Golf (2.69%) and SportsCenter (1.89%), according to iSpot.tv.

Eight of the top 10 programs by automaker reach were sports-related. Although the NBA dominated reach, impressions declined nearly 32% year-over-year. On the flip side, PGA Tour Golf reach was up by 125% vs. May 2025. The WNBA (which ranked eighth for reach in May), saw impressions jump by 233% year-over-year, while college softball (No. 9) increased automaker reach by 181% year-over-year, according to iSpot.tv.

“Live sports remained an essential buy for automakers, with the NBA driving both the largest share of investment and the highest concentration of auto intenders,” Stuart Schwartzapfel, executive vice president  of media partnerships at iSpot, tells Marketing Daily. “But there are other, cost-effective sports opportunities for advertisers as well, with automakers also growing reach during WNBA, college softball and golf events in May, without playoff price tags attached.”

The top programs most likely to reach auto intenders according to iSpot.tv were NBA (27.50%), MLB (15.41%), SportsCenter (14.84%), NHL (13.87%) and 2026 PGA Championship (12.23%). The top non-sports/news programs were "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" (11.70%) and "House Hunters" (10.01%).

The top networks for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions were NBC (14.90%), ESPN (9.41%), CBS (8.39%),ABC (5.39%) and Univision (4.05%).

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions were GMC: THE Truck (3.10%), Chevrolet: Built To Show Up (2.55%), Ford: Employee Pricing: You Pay What We Pay (2.21%), Buick: Now Is Exceptional (2.01%) and Toyota: Celebrate Anything (1.93%).

The top automaker ads by likeability according to iSpot.tv were Honda: Relentless Spirit (+9% more likeable than the May average), Hyundai: Ritual (+6.1%), Jeep: Declaration of Deals: Billy Bass Goes to the River (+6.1%), Toyota: Celebrate Anything (+5.4%) and Honda: Bring Home a Honda: Hybrid (+5.4%).

The top automaker ads by positive purchase intent were Honda: Bring Home a Honda: Hybrid (57%), Honda: Relentless Spirit (54%), Toyota: Ready for Camp (54%), Jeep: Declaration of Deals: Billy Bass Goes to the River (52%) and Kia: Look Out (52%).

GMC had the most-seen auto ad in May, with the most reach coming from the 2026 PGA Championship and MLB games.  

Honda had two of the top five ads by likeability as well as positive purchase intent during the month, while Toyota and Jeep both had one. In addition to likeability and positive purchase intent, Honda’s “Relentless Spirit” spot scored well above the auto norm for attention, information, desire and relevance, with 26% of surveyed viewers saying the visual scenes were the “single best thing” about the ad, according to iSpot.tv.