U.S. CTV Ad Spend Will Surpass Linear TV in 2028

By the end of 2025, the balance of power between TV ad channels will have shifted across nearly every major metric: viewing share, time spent, household adoption, and content investment. The result? CTV will grow from an emerging channel into the dominant force in TV advertising. And though traditional TV may get a temporary lift from elections and Olympic programming in the coming years, it won’t be enough. Forecasts show CTV ad spend surpassing linear by 2028, reaching nearly $46 billion.

Meanwhile, Connected TV continues to evolve into a more mature, performance-driven ecosystem. While this channel has historically been underinvested, the next three years will mark a turning point as more streaming platforms expand their ad-supported tiers and measurement becomes increasingly standardized. And as traditional media companies (including Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, and Paramount) are reconsidering their linear investments, streamers like Netflix and Disney+ are doubling down on ad inventory and live programming. The shift is clear: the future of television is digital, data-powered, and measurable. TV advertisers should be reassessing how they balance their budgets — and leaning into CTV’s growing ability to deliver real, performance-based results.

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