Performance TV Tops Holiday Wishlists as Marketers Chase Sales

Holiday advertising is getting more expensive, and marketers are answering by backing the channels that can prove their worth. A new report found that 81% of marketers plan to run Performance TV ads across the 2026 holiday and seasonal shopping period, and 71% say they’ve even increased their budgets for these moments, up from 57% last year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday still anchor the calendar, together commanding 35% of holiday ad dollars. Rising media costs sit at the top of the worry list for 38% of marketers, and that pressure is fueling their appetite for spend that ties directly back to sales. 

That appetite is changing how markets judge their TV investment. For 63% of those surveyed, sales and revenue now rank as the top outcome for Performance TV (up from fourth place last year). Shoppers are moving earlier too, with 71% of U.S. adults planning to buy before Black Friday, and 46% before November even starts.

Our Take
Costs are climbing and the shopping calendar keeps stretching, but marketers can address both by sequencing their spend to the quarter. Our analysis of MNTN advertiser data found that Q4 shoppers cycle through four distinct mindsets between October and January: an early research-and-planning phase, a deal-hunting rush through the Black Friday and Cyber Monday peak, a quality-driven close before Christmas, and a wellness-led reset as resolution season begins.

If advertisers run one flat message across the whole quarter, they’ll waste the exact window that just got longer and more expensive to buy. Instead, to hit their sales and revenue goals, they should ensure their creative and audiences align with each shift. Longer shopping windows mean longer campaigns, and Performance TV gives advertisers the targeting and measurement capabilities to spend across that runway without losing sight of what each dollar returns.

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