Connected TV (CTV) has officially crossed the threshold from emerging channel to primary screen.
But the bigger story isn't just scale. It's how that scale is behaving, and what it unlocks for marketers.
New 2026 data shows a shift that goes beyond "streaming is bigger than linear". It signals a deeper change in how audiences watch, how ads are experienced, and how growth is actually driven in TV.
Streaming has become the default - not the alternative
For years, streaming was framed as the challenger to linear. That framing no longer holds. In Q1 2026:
- Streaming captured 77% of TV viewership time, a 6% increase year-over-year
- Linear TV viewership dropped by 17% YoY, while streaming grew by 5%
Viewers aren’t switching anymore, they’ve already switched. The question for advertisers now isn’t if they show up in streaming, but how effectively they operate within it. This shift reflects more than access, it signals a preference for on-demand, flexible and increasingly ad-supported viewing.
Ad-supported streaming is the new standard
While streaming was formally a nice-to-have channel, it has grown to be tremendously sticky with viewers across all demographics. Recent insights include:
- Over 8 in 10 TVs now access ad-supported streaming, proving its widespread adoption
- More than 3 out of every 4 minutes of streaming time are ad-supported, demonstrating its effectiveness as an advertising channel
By leveraging ad-supported streaming, advertisers can engage with audiences in a format they actively choose, remain engaged with and build high affinity with.
Where Samsung Ads changes the equation
As streaming has scaled, so has fragmentation across apps, platforms, and intermediaries. The result is a growing change for advertisers: Are you actually reaching new audiences, or the same ones repeatedly? Samsung Ads operates directly on the largest screen in the home and stands out in the crowded CTV market with visibility into real viewing behavior at the TV level and scale that is not just large, but incremental:
- 2x the scale of competitors, ensuring your campaigns reach more viewers than ever before; more scale = more reach
- Up to 80% unduplicated reach, connecting you with untapped, high-value audiences
Samsung Ads reaches TVs less likely to be attached to connected media devices, offering a unique advantage in audience targeting.
From fragmentation to clarity
As CTV matures, the advantage is shifting from those who can access inventory to those who navigate it intelligently.
Samsung Ads doesn't just offer scale — we provide actionable intelligence to optimize your campaigns:
- Proprietary data to help you understand audience behavior and preferences
- First-party insights to ensure your targeting is precise and effective maximizing every media dollar invested
Samsung Ads brings together:
The bottom line
Streaming today isn’t just one environment, it’s many. Apps, FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels, home screens and live experiences all play into how viewers discover and watch content. Success isn’t about consolidating spend, it’s about making every investment work harder together. What matters is:
- How much of your reach is actually new
- How accurately your data reflects real behavior
- How efficiently you can turn viewership into results
Samsung Ads is built to complement — not replace — your existing CTV strategy, helping you uncover incremental reach, reduce duplication, and bring greater clarity to how your campaigns perform.
CTV isn’t just where audiences are — it’s where smarter, more connected strategies are driving growth.
