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September 1, 2026
Traditional TV Metrics Will Shrink Across Every Category in 2027, but Ad Spending Will Shrink Faster Than Usage
Note
Sports TV ad spending includes all inventory sold and controlled by TV networks, regardless if it’s distributed via digital pay TV (virtual multichannel programming distributor, or vMVPD), traditional pay TV, or over-the-air (OTA) TV. Sports ad spending includes live sports games, official league ... events such as drafts and combines, and related shoulder programming tied to these events. Standalone studio shows and highlight programs are excluded. TV includes DVR and other prerecorded video such as video downloaded from the internet but saved locally. Time spent with each medium includes multitasking; for example, 1 hour of multitasking on a mobile phone while watching TV is counted as 1 hour for mobile phone and 1 hour for TV. Figures are rounded to the nearest minute. Estimates of average time spent with media are based on the total US population according to the US Census Bureau 2020 release, not the number of users of each medium.Methodology
TV ad spending estimates are based on the analysis of various elements related to the ad spending market, including macro-level economic conditions, historical trends of the advertising market, historical trends of each medium in relation to other media, reported revenues from major ad publishers, estimates from other research firms, data from benchmark sources, consumer media consumption trends, consumer device usage trends, and EMARKETER interviews with executives at ad agencies, brands, media publishers, and other industry leaders. TV viewer and time spent estimates are based on the analysis of estimates from other research firms, consumer media consumption trends, device adoption trends, company reports, primary research, and interviews.Featured In
US TV Ad Spending 2027Sources
Chart Title
Traditional TV Metrics Will Shrink Across Every Category in 2027, but Ad Spending Will Shrink Faster Than UsagePublication Date
September 1, 2026