US Social Network Forecasts 2024

Audience and Video Ad Spending Both Set to Surpass Linear TV

Report by Jasmine Enberg  | Aug 16, 2024
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Executive Summary
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Social networks continue their climb as linear TV declines
Social video is chipping away at linear TV time spent
Video content preferences are shifting
Social video is reshaping linear TV advertising
What it all means
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Whether social media can replace linear TV is debatable. But there’s no question that it’s a strong contender for linear TV’s audience and ad dollars.
Topics
Social Media Usage
Social Media Marketing
US
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Social networks continue their climb as linear TV declines
Social video is chipping away at linear TV time spent
Video content preferences are shifting
Social video is reshaping linear TV advertising
What it all means
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery

As the race to replace linear TV intensifies, the social networks and YouTube have emerged as strong contenders for its audiences and ad dollars. In 2025, both the number of US social network users and social video ad spending will surpass linear TV.

Key Question: How much of a rival is social media for linear TV audiences and ad dollars?

Social Networks and YouTube Are Strong Contenders for Shrinking Linear TV Audiences (millions of US YouTube viewers, social network users, and linear TV viewers, 2011-2025)
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Key Stat: In 2025, there will be 236.4 million US monthly social network users, compared with 228.6 monthly linear TV viewers.

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    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Social networks continue their climb as linear TV declines
    3. Social video is chipping away at linear TV time spent
    1. Video content preferences are shifting
    2. Social video is reshaping linear TV advertising
    3. What it all means
    1. EMARKETER Interviews
    2. Sources
    3. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Social Networks and YouTube Are Strong Contenders for Shrinking Linear TV Audiences (millions of US YouTube viewers, social network users, and linear TV viewers, 2011-2025)Four Social Media Apps Have a Larger Gen Z Audience Than Linear TV (millions of US Gen Z users/viewers, by platform, 2024)
    Average Time Spent per Day With TV, Social Video, and YouTube by US Adults, 2017-2024 (hrs:mins)Average Time Spent per Day With TV vs. TikTok by US Adults, 2019-2025 (hrs:mins)
    Video Content Quality Attributes That Are of Importance to US Video Viewers, by Creator vs. Studio, Oct 2023 (% of respondents)US Social Video Ad Spending Had 36.5% Compound Annual Growth From 2019 to 2023 (billions in US TV/digital video ad spending, by format, 2019-2025)

    Interviewed for This Report

    Edward East
    Billion Dollar Boy
    Founder and Group CEO
    Interviewed July 12, 2024
    Shira Lazar
    What’s Trending/Creator Spotlight powered by PRophet
    CEO and Co-Founder/Host
    Interviewed July 30, 2024

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    authors

    Jasmine Enberg

    Contributors

    Rahul Chadha
    Nikolai Dineros
    Max Willens
    Yoram Wurmser
    Principal Analyst