January isn't a slowdown. It's a reset.
Every year, the holiday season brings a surge of demand, larger budgets, and media calendars packed to the edges. In 2025 alone, consumers spent a record $253.4B online during the holidays, up 5.3% year-over-year.
Then January hits.
Budgets reset. Demand cools. Attention splinters across feeds, apps, and whatever new AI-powered rabbit hole people are currently disappearing into. It’s often labeled a “lull.”
But that framing misses the point.
January isn’t a dead zone. It’s a moment of recalibration. For brands that know where attention actually still lives, it can be one of the most strategic windows of the year.
Enter: Performance TV.
Why Performance TV earns its place in the mix
As consumers move faster between platforms, TV remains one of the few environments where people still stay put. Longer sessions. Fewer distractions. Real engagement.
That attention matters, especially now.
According to data from our upcoming 2026 State of Performance TV report, 73% of marketers say they struggle to find high-quality potential customers. That’s nearly double last year’s number. Across digital channels, reaching the right audience with the right message at the right moment has never been harder.
Performance TV helps close that gap.
It gives brands a way to meet audiences when they’re more focused, more receptive, and more open to change. Right there on the biggest screen in the house. And because it’s performance-driven, it doesn’t ask marketers to choose between scale and accountability.
With Performance TV, marketers can:
- Use AI to optimize targeting, creative, and delivery in real time
- Measure full-funnel outcomes, from reach to revenue
- Connect TV performance directly to digital reporting
As budgets reset, this combination is why Performance TV now leads all channels for planned media spend in 2026. January is the first real test. Teams are expected to show traction early without leaning on short-term gimmicks.
Which means how you use Performance TV at the start of the year matters.
4 Performance TV best practices for 2026
1. Lead with value in Q1
Post-holiday audiences are in self-improvement mode. Health. Finances. Productivity. Personal growth. January thinking is goal-driven, not indulgent.
Creative that taps into those mindsets consistently outperforms generic brand messaging.
Focus on content that:
- Solves a specific problem
- Clearly communicates value
- Aligns with goals people are already thinking about
January is also the ideal testing ground. AI-powered platforms like tvScientific make it easy to generate creative variations, test messaging quickly, and learn what actually drives outcomes. Insights you can carry through the rest of the year.
2. Ride seasonal entertainment moments
Nearly half of marketers say access to attentive viewers is the most valuable part of Performance TV. January delivers.
Award shows. Season premieres. Live sports. Tentpole moments like the Super Bowl pull in audiences that are actively watching, not half-scrolling. These environments create stronger recall and more meaningful impact.
Performance TV lets brands align messaging with that kind of content instead of competing against it.
Working with platforms that offer broad access to premium inventory makes this scalable. With coverage across publishers and networks, tvScientific can help brands secure placements during high-attention moments without overcomplicating the buy.
3. Treat January as an omnichannel reset
No consumer journey is linear anymore. People bounce between screens, devices, and platforms, often multiple times, before taking action.
January is a chance to reset how those touchpoints work together.
Performance TV integrates naturally with digital channels, making it easier to extend TV exposure into social, mobile, and app environments. Retargeting TV viewers elsewhere reinforces your message and keeps momentum going after the screen goes dark.
It’s also the right moment to clean up measurement. Connecting TV exposure to downstream activity gives teams a clearer picture of what’s actually driving performance before spend scales later in the year.
4. Optimize for outcomes that matter
When demand softens, efficiency wins.
That’s why marketers are shifting focus away from surface-level engagement and toward outcomes like sales, revenue, subscribers, and incrementality.
Performance TV supports this shift through interactive formats. Shoppable QR codes. On-screen prompts. Time-sensitive offers tied to New Year motivation or post-holiday urgency.
AI-powered optimization ensures campaigns continuously adjust toward audiences most likely to convert, not just watch.
2026 Performance TV FAQs
- How can performance marketers drive measurable outcomes with Connected TV campaigns? Performance marketers can drive measurable outcomes with Connected TV by using AI-powered optimization and full-funnel measurement to connect ad exposure to sales, revenue, installs, and incrementality. Performance TV enables continuous optimization in real time, helping brands prove impact even as post-holiday demand softens.
- How can I unify CTV advertising with my existing digital marketing stack? CTV advertising can be unified with your digital marketing stack by connecting TV exposure to downstream performance across social, mobile, and app-based channels. Performance TV platforms provide unified reporting that shows how TV influences cross-channel behavior, helping marketers align teams around shared outcomes.
- What are the best ways to target high-intent audiences on streaming TV? The best way to target high-intent audiences on streaming TV is by using AI-driven audience targeting based on viewing behavior, household signals, and recent purchase intent. This allows brands to reach consumers when they are most receptive to change, particularly during post-holiday and early-year decision-making moments.
- How can I access premium ad-supported streaming inventory at scale? Premium ad-supported streaming inventory can be accessed at scale through programmatic Performance TV platforms that aggregate inventory from top-tier publishers and live, tentpole programming. This enables brands to reach highly engaged audiences during events like season premieres, award shows, and major live sports.
- How can I buy CTV inventory across most major streaming apps? You can buy CTV inventory across most major streaming apps by using a programmatic Performance TV platform that centralizes buying across publishers, devices, and formats. This approach simplifies campaign management and allows brands to scale quickly as budgets reset in Q1.
