The news: Despite strides in streaming, linear TV still maintains an 86% share of overall ad impressions—nearly 17 billion daily impressions, per a report from iSpot.
- iSpot estimates that linear TV grew 3.3% in overall ad spend in the first sixth months of 2025, reaching $21.9 billion.
- Linear prime time increased 13% to $4.2 billion, driven by news and sports programming. The NBA Playoffs boosted ad impressions by 84% since last year’s conference, and the NCAA’s March Madness event increased reach by 16% from last year’s conference.
- CBS led for TV networks airing the most ad impressions so far this year, with an 8.1% share—followed by Fox News (7.1%), ABC (6.4%), and NBC (5.7%). Fox News grew significantly, up 35.1% YoY in the first half of 2025.