WHAT COUNTS AS TV NOW ANYWAY?

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Global linear TV ad spend is projected to fall to $139.1bn in 2026, its lowest since 2005, after declining 27.5% between 2014 and 2024 and 50.8% when adjusted for inflation. Audiences are shifting from linear to connected TV, which now accounts for nearly half of TV usage in the US, while YouTube earned $36bn in US ad sales last year, surpassing all four broadcast networks combined. Fragmentation and measurement gaps remain a challenge, but retail data integration is reshaping how advertisers measure outcomes and plan campaigns. Smaller brands, which allocate only 9% of ad budgets to TV compared to 38% for large brands, may gain new opportunities as CTV moves toward programmatic selling.