Four terms, defined once. Connected TV (CTV) is internet-delivered video watched on a television screen through a smart TV, streaming stick, console or set-top box. Over-the-top (OTT) is any video service delivered over the internet instead of through a cable, satellite or antenna signal, on any screen. Linear TV is scheduled broadcast and cable programming where every household watching a channel sees the same show at the same time. FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) is a streaming service that costs viewers nothing and runs scheduled channels paid for by ads, such as Tubi, Pluto TV or The Roku Channel.
CTV vs linear TV statistics at a glance
| Category | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Viewing | Streaming held 49.0% of US TV time in July 2026; broadcast 19.5%, cable 18.7% | Nielsen, Sep 2026 |
| Viewing | YouTube reached a record 14.2% of all US TV time in July 2026 | Nielsen, Sep 2026 |
| Ad-supported | 71.5% of US TV viewing carried ads in Q2 2026, down 1.3 points from Q1 | Nielsen, Aug 2026 |
| Ad-supported | Streaming was 48.2% of ad-supported TV time in Q2 2026; broadcast 26.6%, cable 25.2% | Nielsen, Aug 2026 |
| Spend | US CTV ad spend: $26.5B in 2025, an estimated $29.3B in 2026 (+11%) | IAB / Guideline, May 2026 |
| Spend | Digital video will take 61% of US TV/video ad spend in 2026, up from 38% in 2021 | IAB / Guideline, May 2026 |
| Spend | US streaming TV ad revenue: $27.6B in 2026 (+21.5%); linear $41.0B (-8.6%) | WPP Media via The Measure, Jun 2026 |
| Spend | eMarketer forecasts US CTV ad spend of $37.95B in 2026, up 14.5% | eMarketer, Jan 2026 |
| Money per hour | Linear earns 1.4x to 1.7x more ad dollars per ad-supported viewing hour than streaming | Computed from Nielsen, IAB and WPP Media |
| Households | 83% of US adults watch streaming services; 36% subscribe to cable or satellite | Pew Research Center, Jul 2025 |
| Platforms | Netflix expects about $3B in ad revenue in 2026, double 2025 | Netflix Q1 2026 letter, Apr 2026 |
| Platforms | Roku ad revenue rose 25% to $672.8M in Q2 2026 | Roku Q2 2026 letter, Aug 2026 |
| Buyers | 54% of buyers raising CTV budgets in 2026 fund the increase from linear TV | IAB / Advertiser Perceptions, May 2026 |
How much streaming time carries ads?
Ad-supported TV took 71.5% of all US TV viewing in Q2 2026, and streaming was 48.2% of that ad-supported time, according to Nielsen's Ad Supported Gauge of August 25, 2026. By my calculation, about 14 points of total TV time was ad-free streaming, so roughly 71% of streaming time carried ads.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Ad-supported TV captured 71.5% of total US TV viewing in Q2 2026, a 1.3-point decline from Q1. | Nielsen Ad Supported Gauge, Aug 2026 |
| Within ad-supported TV, streaming took 48.2% in Q2 2026 (up 1.6 points), broadcast 26.6% (from 26.0% in Q2 2025) and cable 25.2%. | Nielsen Ad Supported Gauge, Aug 2026 |
| Among adults 18+, streaming's share of ad-supported TV fell to 44.4% in Q2 2026, while broadcast rose to 28.6% and cable to 27.0%. | Nielsen Ad Supported Gauge, Aug 2026 |
| In Q1 2026 ad-supported TV was nearly 73% of total viewing and streaming a then-record 46.6% of it; broadcast held 28.2% and cable 25.2%. | Nielsen Ad Supported Gauge, Jun 2026 |
| Computed: ad-supported streaming was about 34.5% of all US TV time in Q2 2026 (48.2% of 71.5%), against total streaming averaging 48.2% of all TV time over April (47.6%), May (48.6%) and June (48.5%). | Computed from Nielsen |
| Netflix's ads plan, priced at $8.99 in the US, made up over 60% of Q1 2026 sign-ups in the countries where it is offered. | Netflix Q1 2026 letter, Apr 2026 |
The adults 18+ line is the one media planners skip. Streaming's lead in ad-supported TV is partly a kids and teens story; for an adult audience, linear still holds 55.6% of ad-supported time. If your buyer is 45, the "linear is dead" deck is wrong by a wide margin, and the household data below says why.
What do connected TV statistics say about households and cord cutting?
Connected TV statistics on households point one way: 83% of US adults watch streaming services, while only 36% subscribe to cable or satellite TV, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 9,397 adults in April 2025. Pay-TV losses continue, more slowly at Charter.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 83% of US adults say they watch streaming services and 36% say they subscribe to cable or satellite TV at home (survey of 9,397 adults, April 14 to 20, 2025). | Pew Research Center, Jul 2025 |
| 55% of US adults stream without a cable or satellite subscription, 28% have both, 8% have cable or satellite only and 8% have neither. | Pew Research Center, Jul 2025 |
| 64% of Americans aged 65 and older subscribe to cable or satellite, against 16% of those aged 18 to 29. | Pew Research Center, Jul 2025 |
| Charter lost 21,000 video customers in Q2 2026, against 80,000 a year earlier, and ended June with 12.5 million. Its TV Select package now bundles the ad-supported versions of Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock. | Charter Q2 2026 earnings, Jul 2026 |
| Comcast reported 280,000 domestic video customer net losses in Q2 2026. | Comcast Q2 2026 earnings, Jul 2026 |
| 90% of US households pay for at least one streaming video service, averaging four; 41% of consumers cancelled one in the last six months (survey of 3,575 US consumers, Oct to Nov 2025). | Deloitte Digital Media Trends, Mar 2026 |
| The Roku home screen is used by more than half of US broadband households, and Roku-made TVs are about 5% of US TV unit sales. | Roku Q2 2026 letter, Aug 2026 |
Charter's number is the interesting one. Its video losses shrank from 80,000 to 21,000 after it started bundling the ad-supported streaming apps into the cable package, which means the line between linear and CTV now runs through the same bill. A Charter customer watching Peacock inside TV Select is streaming in Nielsen and still a pay-TV subscriber at Charter, which blurs the spend numbers next.
How much is spent on CTV vs linear TV advertising?
US CTV ad spend reached $26.5 billion in 2025 and IAB, working with Guideline, estimates $29.3 billion for 2026, an 11% rise. Three forecasters publish three different 2026 figures for CTV or streaming TV advertising, and the spread is $10.4 billion.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| US CTV ad spend grew from $15.2B in 2021 to $26.5B in 2025 and an estimated $29.3B in 2026. | IAB / Guideline, May 2026 |
| Social video ad spend ($28.2B) overtook CTV in 2025 and will reach an estimated $31.9B in 2026, growing 13%. IAB classifies YouTube as social video. | IAB / Guideline, May 2026 |
| US digital video ad spend (CTV, social and online video) will reach $81.9B in 2026, up 11%, from $73.6B in 2025. | IAB, May 2026 |
| Digital video's share of US TV/video ad spend rises to 61% in 2026, from 58% in 2025 and 38% in 2021; linear TV falls to 39%. | IAB / Guideline, May 2026 |
| WPP Media's midyear forecast, reported by The Measure on June 15, 2026, puts US total TV ad revenue at $68.5B in 2026: streaming $27.6B (up 21.5%) and linear $41.0B (down 8.6%). National streaming revenue passes national linear in 2026. | WPP Media This Year Next Year, via The Measure, Jun 2026 |
| eMarketer's December 2025 forecast puts US CTV ad spend at $37.95B in 2026, up 14.5%. | eMarketer, Jan 2026 |
| eMarketer's early 2025 forecast had US CTV ad spend reaching $46.89B in 2028 and passing traditional TV ($45.10B) for the first time that year. | eMarketer, Jan 2025 |
The WPP Media figures come from The Measure's June 15, 2026 report, because WPP Media's own June 16 release prints only global totals and keeps the US TV split in an interactive tool. Don't average these forecasts or divide one firm's CTV figure by another's linear figure. IAB's CTV excludes YouTube, eMarketer's CTV is a broader bucket, and WPP measures media owner revenue. Pick one publisher per ratio, which is what the next section does.
Why does linear TV still earn more per viewing hour than CTV?
Linear TV earns 1.4 to 1.7 times more ad money per ad-supported viewing hour than streaming in 2026, by my calculation. Streaming holds 48.2% of ad-supported TV time in Nielsen's Q2 2026 Ad Supported Gauge. Its share of 2026 TV ad money is 40.3% in WPP Media's forecast, giving 1.4x, and 35.9% on IAB and Guideline's estimates, giving 1.7x. Time is one Nielsen quarter and money a full-year forecast from another publisher, so read this as an index, not a price.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Computed: CTV is 35.9% of 2026 TV-screen ad spend on IAB's basis ($29.3B CTV against about $52.4B linear, which I computed from IAB's printed $81.9B digital video base and 61/39 split: 81.9 x 39 / 61), and streaming is 40.3% of 2026 TV ad revenue on WPP Media's basis ($27.6B of $68.5B). | Computed from IAB / Guideline and WPP Media |
| Computed: streaming's share of ad-supported time (48.2%) runs 7.9 to 12.3 points ahead of its share of TV ad money. | Computed from Nielsen, IAB and WPP Media |
| 54% of advertisers increasing CTV spend in 2026 say the money comes from linear TV budgets; 40% from print and radio, 38% from incremental budget (n=149). | IAB / Advertiser Perceptions, May 2026 |
| The share of buyers calling CTV/OTT a "must buy" fell from 68% in 2025 to 61% in 2026, while national broadcast/cable rose from 39% to 44% (n=360). | IAB / Advertiser Perceptions, May 2026 |
| The share of small advertisers investing in CTV rose from 60% in 2024 to 85% in 2026, helped by self-serve platforms. | IAB / Advertiser Perceptions, May 2026 |
Part of the gap is YouTube-shaped. Nielsen counts YouTube on a TV set as streaming time while IAB files YouTube ad money under social video, which widens the IAB version. Even on WPP's numbers, a linear hour still pays more. I read that as a live-sports and reach premium that buyers pay knowingly, and the 44% "must buy" score for national TV says they haven't stopped. The platforms are trying to close it, and their own disclosures show how fast.
How big are the streaming platforms' ad businesses?
Netflix expects about $3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026, double its 2025 level, and Roku's quarterly ad revenue grew 25% to $672.8 million in Q2 2026. Every figure in this section is self-reported by the company, in filings or at its upfront, and dated as published.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Netflix works with over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year over year, and continues to expect about $3B in ad revenue in 2026, 2x 2025. | Netflix Q1 2026 letter, Apr 2026 |
| Netflix said at its May 2026 upfront that its ads plan reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, and over 80% of ads members watch every week. | Netflix Upfront 2026, May 2026 |
| Amazon says its authenticated reach covers 90% of US households, and Prime Video ad-supported viewers watched 17% more hours a month than a year earlier. | Amazon Ads Upfront 2026 recap, May 2026 |
| Roku platform revenue reached $1.221B in Q2 2026 (up 25%), including $672.8M of advertising. Streaming hours rose 7% to 37.9 billion. Third-party DSPs bought nearly three quarters of its in-stream video ad spend. | Roku Q2 2026 letter, Aug 2026 |
| Fox agreed on June 15, 2026 to acquire Roku for $160 a share, about $22B in enterprise value; the companies say the combination would be the third-largest in US TV by share of viewing. | Fox and Roku 8-K, Jun 2026 |
| Tubi's total view time grew 20% in Fox's fiscal 2026. | Fox Corporation annual report, Sep 2026 |
| YouTube ads revenue was $40.4B worldwide in 2025, up from $36.1B in 2024. | Alphabet Form 10-K, Feb 2026 |
| Netflix joined The Trade Desk's Sellers and Publishers 500+ programme in 2026, opening its inventory to that buying platform. | The Trade Desk Q2 2026 results, Aug 2026 |
Netflix's $3 billion is global and YouTube's $40.4 billion covers every screen, so neither belongs in a sum with US CTV spend. The ad tier took over 60% of Netflix sign-ups where offered, which grows inventory faster than advertisers are shifting budgets. My read: that keeps CTV prices under pressure, and it's why measurement is now the argument.
How reliable is CTV and linear TV measurement?
Nielsen's national TV ratings are accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) including the integration of big data and Amazon's first-party streaming data for Thursday Night Football, but Nielsen's digital TV ratings methodology is not accredited. The Gauge itself is not the currency advertisers trade on.
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The MRC accreditation of Nielsen's national TV service includes national big data integration and first-party streaming data used for Prime Video's Thursday Night Football; Nielsen's dTVR methodology remains in audit and is not accredited. | Media Rating Council, 2025 |
| Nielsen states that The Gauge reflects total TV viewing, ad-supported and not, and does not reflect the currency ratings used for ad sales; methodology updates are due in fall 2026. | Nielsen The Gauge, Jul 2026 |
| The published Ad Supported Gauge had not yet migrated to the ARF DASH-based universe estimates as of June 2026. | Nielsen, Jun 2026 |
| Nielsen adjusted measurement parameters for Tubi in June 2026 and was still evaluating the impact when it published July data. | Nielsen The Gauge, Sep 2026 |
| Targeting overtook content quality as the top criterion for TV/video buys in 2026, cited by 49% of buyers against 46%. | IAB / Advertiser Perceptions, May 2026 |
Every Nielsen share here moves when Nielsen changes a universe estimate or parameter, as it did at least twice in 2026. Fine for direction, risky for decimals. I'd quote The Gauge to the nearest point in a board deck and never stack two of its monthly deltas into a trend claim.
How we calculated the original numbers
Four figures on this page appear in no source. Here is the arithmetic, with each input's publisher, so you can check it.
- 1.4x to 1.7x: linear ad dollars per ad-supported viewing hour, relative to streaming. Nielsen's Q2 2026 Ad Supported Gauge splits ad-supported US TV time into streaming 48.2% and linear (broadcast 26.6% plus cable 25.2%) 51.8%. On IAB and Guideline's 2026 estimates, CTV is $29.3B. Linear is not printed in dollars, so I derived it from IAB's shares: digital video is $81.9B and 61% of the market, which puts linear at 39% or about $52.4B (81.9 x 39 / 61). CTV's share of TV-screen spend is 29.3 / 81.7 = 35.9% and linear's is 64.1%. Dollars per share point of time: linear 64.1 / 51.8 = 1.24, CTV 35.9 / 48.2 = 0.74, ratio 1.66 (1.24 / 0.74 on the rounded figures gives 1.68). IAB rounds its split to whole points, so the ratio could be 1.63 to 1.70. On WPP Media's 2026 basis, streaming is 27.6 / 68.5 = 40.3% and linear 59.9%, so 59.9 / 51.8 = 1.16 against 40.3 / 48.2 = 0.84, ratio 1.38. The range runs from the WPP Media result (1.4) to the IAB result (1.7). Caveats: the time comes from Nielsen and the money from IAB or WPP Media, different publishers with different definitions; the time is one quarter and the money a full year.
- 7.9 to 12.3 points: the time-money gap. Streaming's 48.2% of ad-supported time minus its 40.3% share of TV ad revenue (WPP Media) is 7.9 points. Minus its 35.9% share of TV-screen spend (IAB, linear dollars computed as above) it is 12.3 points. Same cross-publisher caveat.
- About 14 points of total TV time is ad-free streaming. Nielsen's Q2 2026 Ad Supported Gauge (US, August 25, 2026) puts ad-supported TV at 71.5% of all viewing and streaming at 48.2% of ad-supported viewing. Ad-supported streaming as a share of all TV is 0.715 x 0.482 = 34.5%. The Gauge puts total streaming at 47.6% of all TV in April (May's 48.6% minus its reported 1.0-point rise), 48.6% in May and 48.5% in June (July's 49.0% minus 0.5 points), an unweighted average of 48.2%. The match with the ad-supported 48.2% is coincidence; the two measure different things. 48.2 minus 34.5 leaves about 14 points of all TV time as ad-free streaming, and 34.5 / 48.2 means about 71% of streaming time carried ads.
- $10.4B: the spread between three 2026 CTV forecasts. eMarketer's $37.95B minus WPP Media's $27.6B streaming TV figure is $10.35B, and IAB's $29.3B sits between them. eMarketer's number is 37% above WPP's (37.95 / 27.6 = 1.375). The three firms define the category differently: IAB's CTV excludes YouTube, WPP Media counts streaming TV revenue, and eMarketer uses a wider CTV bucket. Most of the spread is definition.
What the 2026 numbers say
Streaming won the time, and it hasn't won the money yet. At 49.0% of TV time in July 2026, streaming is bigger than broadcast and cable combined. On every forecaster's 2026 numbers it still takes less than half of TV ad dollars. That gap is why Netflix, Amazon and Disney sell ad tiers.
Not every streaming minute is for sale. About 14 points of US TV time is ad-free streaming, and the adults 18+ split tilts ad-supported time back toward linear. Sizing CTV off the 49% headline overshoots the ad-supported base by about 40%.
The gap will close from the supply side. Netflix's ad tier took over 60% of new sign-ups where offered, Amazon's ad-supported viewers watch 17% more hours, and Fox is paying about $22 billion for Roku. More ad-supported hours arrive every quarter, while IAB expects CTV budgets to grow 11% in 2026. My bet for 2027: CTV prices stay under pressure, and linear keeps its premium only where live sports sit.
Want more than CTV vs linear TV statistics? The statistics hub has every page in this series, digital marketing vs traditional marketing statistics shows the same shift across all media, and AI advertising statistics covers the agentic buying tools now showing up in CTV plans.
FAQ
What share of TV viewing is streaming vs linear TV?
Streaming took 49.0% of US TV time in July 2026, according to Nielsen's The Gauge, against 19.5% for broadcast and 18.7% for cable. The rest sits in Nielsen's "other" category. YouTube alone held a record 14.2%.
Is more TV ad money spent on CTV or linear TV?
Linear TV still takes more. IAB and Guideline estimate $29.3B of US CTV ad spend in 2026, against about $52B for linear that I computed from IAB's 61/39 split. WPP Media forecasts $27.6B for streaming against $41.0B for linear. WPP expects national streaming revenue to pass national linear in 2026.
Does linear TV earn more ad money per viewing hour than CTV?
Yes, 1.4 to 1.7 times more per ad-supported viewing hour, by my calculation from Nielsen's Q2 2026 Ad Supported Gauge: 1.4x on WPP Media's 2026 forecast and 1.7x on IAB and Guideline's 2026 estimates. Streaming holds 48.2% of ad-supported TV time but 36% to 40% of TV ad dollars. The inputs come from different publishers, so treat it as an index.
What are the latest connected TV statistics for 2026?
Connected TV ad spend in the US is estimated at $29.3B for 2026, up 11% (IAB / Guideline, May 2026), and eMarketer forecasts $37.95B. On viewing, 71.5% of US TV time carried ads in Q2 2026 and streaming held 48.2% of that ad-supported time (Nielsen, August 2026).
How many Americans still pay for cable or satellite TV?
36% of US adults subscribed to cable or satellite TV in April 2025, while 83% watched streaming services, according to Pew Research Center's survey of 9,397 adults. Among adults aged 18 to 29, only 16% subscribed.
How much ad revenue does Netflix make from its ad tier?
About $3B in 2026, double 2025, according to Netflix's Q1 2026 shareholder letter. Netflix reports more than 250 million global monthly active viewers on its ads plan (May 2026) and over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% in a year.
Sources
- Nielsen, TV Usage Kicks Usual Summer Slowdown in Nielsen's July Gauge Reports (September 2026)
- Nielsen, Streaming Embarks on Annual Summer Ascent in Nielsen's May 2026 Gauge Reports (July 2026)
- Nielsen, Major Live Sports Events Bolster Broadcast in Nielsen's Q2 2026 Ad Supported Gauge (August 2026)
- Nielsen, Nielsen's Q1 2026 Ad Supported Gauge (June 2026)
- IAB, 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, Part One (with Guideline and Advertiser Perceptions) (May 2026)
- IAB, U.S. Digital Video Ad Spend to Surpass $80B in 2026 (May 2026)
- WPP Media, This Year Next Year 2026 Midyear Forecast (June 2026)
- The Measure, WPP Media Boosts Ad Revenue Forecast, Sees 8.9% Growth (June 2026)
- eMarketer, CTV Trends for 2026 (January 2026)
- eMarketer, One of the Largest Sources of New Video Ad Inventory and Spending Is CTV (January 2025)
- Netflix, Q1 2026 Letter to Shareholders (April 2026)
- Netflix, Netflix Upfront 2026: Get Closer (May 2026)
- Amazon Ads, Amazon Upfront 2026 Recap (May 2026)
- Roku, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter (August 2026)
- Fox Corporation, Fiscal 2026 Annual Report (September 2026)
- Fox Corporation and Roku, Acquisition Announcement (Form 8-K) (June 2026)
- Charter Communications, Second Quarter 2026 Results (July 2026)
- Comcast, Second Quarter 2026 Results (July 2026)
- Pew Research Center, 83% of US adults use streaming services, far fewer subscribe to cable or satellite TV (July 2025)
- Deloitte, 2026 Digital Media Trends (March 2026)
- Alphabet Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (February 2026)
- Media Rating Council, Television Accreditation (2025)
- The Trade Desk, Second Quarter 2026 Results (August 2026)
Methodology. These CTV vs linear TV statistics were collected in September 2026 and checked against the original publisher's page, filing or PDF, not against statistics roundups; vendor blogs and market-report resellers were excluded. Company ad-tier figures are self-reported and dated as published. Viewing shares are US, from Nielsen, and include ad-free streaming unless labelled ad-supported. CTV spend figures from IAB, WPP Media and eMarketer use different definitions and are never combined in one ratio; the time-versus-money calculations combine Nielsen time with one spend publisher at a time and say so. WPP Media's US figures are cited from The Measure's June 15, 2026 report because WPP Media's own release prints only global totals. Last updated 24 September 2026.