Smart TVs are used by 61.9% of US connected TV (CTV) households, making them the top CTV device by far, per Comscore CTV Intelligence. In second and third place are Amazon Fire TV (29.1%) and Roku (28.4%), respectively.

This report is a guideline to help marketers understand connected TV through market size estimates, growth projections, and analysis of the complex landscape of ad buyers and sellers.

US linear TV ad spend is shrinking (8.0% YoY) as connected TV (CTV) ad spend grows (21.2% YoY). This year, US CTV ad spend will total $25.09 billion while linear will total $61.31 billion.

Connected TV's ascendancy: GroupM's mid-year forecast points to a significant surge in CTV advertising, signaling a pivotal shift in media consumption and ad strategies.

In our newest forecast for time spent, mobile devices still attract more than half of all digital time, but CTV is catching up.

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services like The Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV will bring in tens of millions of viewers this year, though time spent with the platforms isn’t comparable to that of Netflix or YouTube, according to our forecast. Still, marketers should keep an eye on these streaming services, especially those with parent companies like Paramount or Fox that may be able to spin free viewers into paid members.

Baby boomers make up the largest share of TV viewers, while 25- to 34-year-olds predominate CTV usage. Marketers increasingly plan their buys across these mediums to achieve their targeting goals.

Disintermediation is getting real, upfront advertisers want their programmatic CTV spending accounted for, and Google shares early results from the Privacy Sandbox.

Consumers’ appetite for quality, on-demand content has contributed to connected TV’s (CTV’s) stronghold as the fastest-growing major ad format in the US. “There’s a lot more for [advertisers] to weed through in terms of the opportunities and options of where to place our clients’ ad dollars,” Jennifer Kohl, executive director and head of US media at VMLY&R, said of CTV during our virtual “Attention!” summit last week.

Connected TV (CTV) ad spend in the US will pass $25 billion this year and continue to grow by double digits through the end of our forecast period in 2027. Even with a challenging market, the format is in decent shape.

Linear upfront spending is expected to remain flat for the foreseeable future, but marketers are increasingly turning to connected TV (CTV), with advertisers projected to spend more than $8 billion on CTV ads at this year’s upfronts and NewFronts.

Retail media is moving from its initial state (search and on-site display ads) up the funnel toward social, open web, and connected TV. As retail media networks move into their next era, they should leverage partnerships to explore new channels, said Evan Hovorka, vice president of product and innovation at Albertsons Media Collective.

Though we’ve downgraded our retail media forecast, we anticipate the channel will experience double-digit growth through 2027. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that retail media is one of the most important and potentially most transformative ad spending channels in media right now,” said our analyst Max Willens.

On today's episode, we discuss the significance of Netflix saying it has 5 million monthly active users on its ad tier, the biggest impacts of the new streaming service Max, and how much noise a combined Paramount+ and Showtime offering can make. "In Other News," we talk about the current state of esports and what the best connected TV (CTV) ad formats are. Tune in to the discussion with our director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

YouTube is positioned to be an advertising powerhouse. It’s one of the original digital video players, courting advertisers at a time when connected TV advertising is climbing. The platform’s Google ties offer it a more trustworthy reputation in the US than TikTok. And use is already extremely high. But YouTube’s high standing also makes growth difficult. Here are five charts summarizing YouTube’s position and potential.

Retail media’s rise in popularity is being boosted by increasing ecommerce sales, a wide variety of ad formats, and established retailer-brand relationships. But an increasingly crowded space may have advertisers feeling overwhelmed, which could put a bit of strain on retail media’s growth.

More than half (53%) of US TV advertisers say a lack of common metrics is a challenge to integrating linear and digital campaign data, according to Yahoo Advertising. Creating a holistic framework and navigating walled gardens’ data-sharing rules are hurdles for about 40% of TV advertisers each.

US connected TV (CTV) ad spend will continue to grow through 2027, when it will reach $40.90 billion, according to our forecast. Apart from a small bump next year, ad spend on TV (including broadcast and cable TV) will decline over the next few years. Still, TV’s share of total ad spend is larger than CTV’s, indicating it remains a key player in marketers’ ad strategies.

The UK ad market is under as much pressure as it’s ever faced. But while spending growth will hit a historical low, there are some positive signs for advertisers with experimentation away from the duopoly a very real possibility.

The way advertisers think about TV is changing as it shifts from linear to ad-supported streaming. Here are three developments shaping TV ad measurement, streaming behaviors, and consumer targeting.