For years, the story about TV was simple: cable was fading, streaming was rising, and advertisers needed to adapt. That story is now too narrow.
TV remains one of the most powerful media environments in the world. But the way people experience TV has fundamentally changed. It is no longer limited to a living room screen or a single viewing moment. Today, consumers move fluidly between streaming apps, smart TVs, phones, and second screens, making TV part of a broader journey of discovery, research, and purchase.3
That shift is changing the role TV plays for advertisers. With the rise of Connected TV (CTV), television is becoming more accessible, more flexible, and increasingly measurable. As a result, investment is following. According to DECENTRIQ, global CTV ad spend is projected to surpass $40 billion by 2028.4
And the market is already moving in that direction. CTV is no longer treated as a side bet or an awareness-only channel. It is becoming a measurable growth channel that can build reach, strengthen trust, and drive outcomes across the funnel.
Below are the TV statistics that matter most in 2026, and what they tell us about where advertising is headed next.
Streaming is now the center of how people watch TV
The biggest change in TV is also the most straightforward. Streaming is no longer an emerging behavior. It is now the default experience for most viewers.
In tvScientific’s 2026 Consumer Trends Report, 34% of consumers say they watch TV only through streaming apps, 34% say a mix of streaming and live TV, and another 15% say mostly streaming apps. Just 6% say they watch only live TV.3
And that shift spans every generation. Streaming adoption is highest among younger viewers, but it is no longer limited to them. According to the report, 92% of Gen Z and 90% of Millennials watch TV through streaming apps. Gen X is close behind at 83%, and even Baby Boomers have crossed into majority streaming behavior at 61%.3
The change is even visible in one of linear TV’s last major holdouts: live sports. Today, 65% of consumers say they watch live sports through streaming platforms, not cable.3
What was once a shift in viewer behavior has now become the defining structure of the modern TV experience.
Cable still has a role, but it no longer defines the category
This does not mean cable has disappeared. It still matters, especially for specific audiences and use cases. But it no longer sits at the center of TV strategy.
In fact, Baby Boomers are now the only generation where cable ranks as the top-performing TV ad environment, at 32%.3 Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X all say streaming apps are the environment where TV ads perform best.
That is an important distinction. Cable still has value, but it is no longer the default lens for understanding TV. For most brands, the more important question is not whether streaming has overtaken cable. It already has. The real question is how to build a TV strategy that reflects that reality.
Ad-supported streaming has become a consumer choice
Streaming growth has also changed how viewers think about advertising.
What once looked like a tradeoff now looks more like a deliberate choice. Among consumers who choose ad-supported TV, 77% say they do so because it is cheaper, and 41% say they simply do not mind ads on TV.3
That matters because it shows the streaming market is maturing. Consumers are making more active decisions about cost, access, and value. For advertisers, that means a larger and more intentional audience is available inside premium, ad-supported TV environments.
The implication is important. Ads are not just tolerated in streaming. In many cases, they are part of the model consumers are actively opting into.
TV is now a dual-screen, action-ready experience
The second major shift is not just where people watch, but how they watch.
TV viewing is no longer a passive, lean-back activity. It is increasingly connected to everything else consumers do in real time: 78% scroll social media while watching TV, 69% browse online shopping, and 68% look up a product they saw in an ad.3
That changes the role of TV completely. Exposure on the biggest screen can now trigger action on the smallest one, often within seconds. Consumers are researching, browsing, validating, and shopping while the ad is still fresh in mind.
For marketers, this is one of the clearest signals that TV can no longer be measured like a siloed awareness channel. It increasingly behaves like a connected performance environment.
TV does not just build awareness. It drives action
That dual-screen behavior helps explain one of the most important findings in the report: TV is a direct driver of purchase behavior.
65% of consumers say they have made a purchase after seeing a TV ad. After seeing one, 60% search for the brand, 47% visit the website, and 42% look up reviews.3
That pattern matters because it shows TV is not simply creating passive recall. It is prompting active next steps. People are not just remembering ads later. They are responding in the moment through search, site visits, and product research.
TV also builds confidence. Half of consumers say TV ads help them feel more confident before buying.3
This is where the old brand-versus-performance divide starts to break down. TV still builds awareness and credibility, but it also helps move consumers toward action. In 2026, the strongest TV strategies do both.
The next phase of TV is more interactive and more personalized
Consumer expectations are also changing. More viewers now want TV to behave less like a one-way broadcast channel and more like a digital platform.
40% of consumers say they want ads personalized to recent searches or purchases. 33% want click-to-learn-more remote ads, 33% want live shopping during sports and events, and 32% want shoppable pause ads.3
Younger audiences are pushing this shift even further. Among Gen Z, 53% want personalized TV ads, 45% want shoppable pause ads, and 40% rank creator-led TV ads as their top advertising format.3
This is where TV is headed next. Not away from storytelling, but toward more responsive storytelling. The most effective TV experiences will increasingly be relevant, interactive, and built for action.
Marketers are shifting budgets toward Performance TV
Consumer behavior is changing first, but advertiser behavior is changing right behind it.
In tvScientific’s 2026 State of Performance TV report, Performance TV ranks as the top channel for media spend at 24%, ahead of social at 20% and linear TV at 11%. It also ties with social as the most effective channel, with both at 25%.5
That shift is happening for practical reasons. Marketers are under more pressure to prove impact in channels where visibility is getting harder to earn. 63% say it is harder than ever to stand out on social media, and 65% say AI-driven search experiences are making it harder to get noticed in search. At the same time, 73% say they struggle to find high-quality customers.5
Performance TV is benefiting from that pressure. It is offering something many marketers feel is harder to find elsewhere: attentive audiences, stronger measurement, and more direct links to business outcomes.
Budget movement reflects that reality. 58% of marketers say Performance TV budget is coming from YouTube, 56% say it is coming from Meta, and 52% say it is coming from TikTok.5
This is not a marginal shift. It is a broader reallocation toward a channel marketers increasingly trust to do more.
The future of TV advertising is streaming-first, cross-channel, and measurable
If there is one takeaway from the latest tvScientific research, it is this: TV has not lost relevance. It has changed form.
Today’s TV is streaming-first. It is multi-device. It is dual-screen. It is increasingly interactive. And it is more tightly connected to trust, action, and measurable outcomes than many marketers still realize.
That changes the opportunity.
TV is no longer just a place to build broad awareness and hope the impact shows up somewhere else. It is becoming a more accountable part of the media mix, one that can strengthen other channels, improve confidence, and drive action across the customer journey.
For marketers, the path forward is not to treat TV like a legacy channel with modern packaging. It is to recognize what the data now makes clear: TV has become a performance environment.
And the brands that adapt to that reality will be in a much stronger position to earn attention, prove outcomes, and grow with confidence.
Want to see how Performance TV can drive more measurable growth for your brand? Book a demo with tvScientific.
Sources:
1. tvScientific, 2026 Consumer Trends Report, United States, April 2026.
2. Decentriq, “What is CTV advertising? How it works, why it wins, and how to launch a campaign,” August 2025.
3. tvScientific, 2026 State of Performance TV Report, United States, January 2026.
