Linear TV still reigns in advertising time

Streaming doesn’t generate ad inventory as consistently

Viewers still watch the vast majority of ads on TV screens via linear TV, even as its share of time spent dwindles. Linear TV will account for more than half (56.5%) of total time US viewers spend watching video on TV screens in 2024, according to our forecast. In 2020, linear held nearly three-fourths (72.2%) of this time spent. Linear’s share of time spent is shrinking because streaming’s time spent share continues to grow. Clearly, linear TV and streaming viewer patterns are heading in opposite directions.

However, when it comes to generating ad inventory, linear TV far outstrips streaming. In Q2 2024, cable and broadcast linear TV accounted for nearly 90% of the time viewers spent watching ads on TV screens, according to ESHAP’s analysis of Comscore data. That’s due to the higher ad loads there and the commonality of ad-free streaming.

Ad load estimates for linear TV vary, but generally the average is about 15 minutes of ads per hour. Streaming ad loads are much lighter, although they vary significantly, ranging from nearly 9 minutes per hour to 1 minute per hour, according to MediaRadar.

Although linear TV generates more than six times the amount of advertising time spent than CTV, the two are more similar in other regards. In total time spent, CTV is not far behind linear TV, according to our forecast. In ad spending, we forecast linear TV will receive about double the number of ad dollars as CTV in 2024.

This means that CTV generates more ad revenues per hour than linear TV. If Comscore’s data is extrapolated out for the entire year and compared with our 2024 ad spending forecasts, then each percentage point of share of advertising time spent generates $690 million for linear TV and $2.2 billion for CTV.

Read the full report, US TV and Connected TV Ad Spending Forecasts H2 2024.