Digital video has taken over the living room the same way it once took over mobile screens. As ad-supported tiers surge and free services gain ground, pay TV is losing relevance—even as digital pay TV trends upward.

US streaming TV advertising is seeing a significant influx of new advertisers and increased budgets. While Hulu maintains its ad revenue lead, a growing number of brands are diversifying their spend across multiple platforms to reach viewers.

A new TikTok and Tubi partnership moves TikTok talent to FAST, giving brands new IP plays in ad-supported CTV.

As prices climb and ad tiers spread, most viewers will see commercials regardless of their plan. Streamers and marketers are asking how to turn growing ad loads into sustainable revenues without alienating viewers.

OTT video is reshaping how adults spend their media time. Subscription streaming, free ad-supported channels, and long-form YouTube content on CTV are pulling attention away from traditional TV—and expanding total viewing in the process.

Milano Cortina delivered the strongest Winter Olympics viewership in over a decade across streaming and linear TV, proving the value of live sports.

For the Winter Olympics, NBCUniversal paired broadcast scale with streaming, CTV, and creator integrations to drive monetization in a major way.

Live sports boosted cable viewership in January, but streaming’s dominance signals marketers must balance CTV precision with linear scale.

Media habits keep evolving as digital gains ground faster than traditional declines. Video is absorbing more attention, screens are doing more of the work, and the central battle is for a share of limited consumer time.

Live football still concentrates attention at scale: Super Bowl LX delivered historic reach across platforms despite a modest YoY decline.

Streaming video growth is shifting. Price hikes are slowing subscription revenue gains while ad-supported tiers take on a bigger role. Services must balance consumer fatigue with funding content and unlocking new ad revenues.

Live sports command major leverage; NBCUniversal is using scale and bundling to defend pricing power as sports rights costs surge and distribution fragments.

NFL viewership favors broadcast as traditional TV draws the biggest audiences, but streaming’s ad effectiveness is unmatched.

After a 20% jump in streaming subscription prices, when will consumers cut back?

NBCUniversal (NBCU) debuted AI-powered ad features ahead of the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in 2026, giving advertisers the opportunity to leverage AI for better results in live TV and video-on-demand properties. Campaigns running on NBCU properties now gain access to the massive benefits of utilizing AI for TV, CTV, and VOD advertising.

The average cost of ad-free streaming has risen from $9 to $16 per month since 2020, a 78% increase in five years, according to an October analysis from The Verge.

Streaming CPMs are flattening as swelling CTV inventory reshapes pricing power and forces advertisers to rethink how they balance cost, ad clutter, and reach.

NBC News is introducing an ad-free, subscription-based streaming platform that consolidates its full lineup of content, spanning linear broadcasts, podcasts, live channels from NBC-owned stations, and original exclusive reports, into a single application, per Variety. Multiple platforms appeal to user preferences but cause more difficulties for advertisers who are struggling with an increasingly fragmented TV ecosystem.