Five years ago in 2020, during the midst of the pandemic, live still led vs. streaming - at 43% vs. 36%.
DTC cost-per-thousand viewer pricing is 35% higher than averages for all ad categories, particularly among streaming/CTV platforms, according to analysis by Guideline, a media research company.
Good news for streamers is a slight decline in the number of consumers cancelling their subscriptions. Premium streamers have the lowest/best "churn" rate, at 4.1%.
The biggest global TV ad spenders on average now allocate just 38% of their ad budgets to TV, while smaller brands' ad spend is around 9%.
Spending on video and music streaming rose more than 10% year over year as of July 2025.
While Americans are increasingly pinching pennies, the silver lining is that it's driving them to ad-supported streaming services or tiers, indicating an expansion of ad inventory supply.
Total "normalized" ad revenue - which excludes seasonal/one-time events - for Fox, Comcast/NBCU, Disney, Paramount Skydance and WBD was down 1% in Q4 2024 and 2% lower in Q1 2025.
To attract and retain subscribers, platforms increasingly rely on event-driven promotions.
Overall, 51% of sports streamers say they subscribe only during a season and then cancel.
Forty-three percent of U.S. adults say TV ads are most likely to "influence" them to try a new product/service, vs. 55% of Baby Boomers and 51% of Gen X, a survey finds.
Current monthly consumer costs range from $68 for one service to $98 for five or more services. At the top level of five or more, consumers are only willing to spend one dollar more ($99).
Consumers are spending an average of $83 a month on TV services, with those subscribed to three or more services indicating they are spending more than they would like.
Netflix average subscriber viewing declined 6% to 1.4 hours per day in the first six months of 2025 vs. 1.5 hours per day in second-half 2024.
Hispanic talent remains significantly underrepresented, appearing in just 7% of top programs despite making up 20% of the U.S. population.
Gross subscriber additions rose to 52 million in Q1 2025 - up from 50 million the previous year, according to Antenna. Those gross additions come from 34 streaming platforms.
Just 36% of Americans subscribe to cable or satellite services, including 64% of those 65 and older.
Netflix was on top of the leaderboard for the sixth year in a row, followed by ABC, Amazon Prime Video, CBS and Fox.
Research shows U.S. viewers watch an average of 24 hours of TV every week, with 66% of U.S. consumers watching TV "all or most of the time."
About 41% of those who don't "generally" watch TV on an average day are under 30 - while 27% are 31-49 and 20% are over 50, a study by Attest found.
Interactive video ads deliver a 58% stronger unaided brand recall than standard video spots.
Fox Corp. posted an eye-opening 5% gain in the most recent first quarter to about $2 billion in linear affiliate revenue, a number that has been trending higher.
A Nielsen marketing survey finds 42.4% of ad-supported viewing time is now on streaming platforms, with ad spend estimated to increase 25% this year to over $20 billion.
Nearly 70% of respondents in a new consumer study said they were "not at all likely" to subscribe to the new ESPN streaming service, with 16% "somewhat likely" and 15% "very likely" to subscribe.
The bank expects ad revenue excluding subscriptions to reach $3 billion in 2025, more than doubling from $1.4 billion in 2024.
New Street Research modeled Netflix's fill rate at around 45% for 2025 - expected to rise to 70% in 2026 and 90% in 2027. "At that point it slows to modest annual increases, eventually reaching 95%
in 2030."
Search, display banners, streaming and CTV dominated local digital budgets last year, with Borrell Associates estimating the combined sectors will hold 78% of digital and 57% of total local
advertising within three years.
TV consumer surveys suggest only streaming remains top of mind. A new survey from Adtaxi shows 70% of U.S. adults make streaming their first choice for TV and video content viewing.
For the first three months of this year, total national TV cable revenues are estimated to have fallen 9.2%, with $3.4 billion and broadcast networks sinking 4.6% to $3.3 billion.
A survey by iSpot finds 16% of advertisers believe there will be declines in their budgets (1% to 49%), and 27% will see gains (1% to 49%) - while just 1% see their budgets climbing by 50% or more.
The macro backdrop for advertising broadly and for brand advertising specifically has deteriorated in the past few weeks, the bank says.