CTV vs linear TV: Key differences, benefits, and how to choose the right channel for your campaign

Television is redefining what advertising looks like. Viewers are shifting from fixed schedules and channel surfing to on-demand streaming, and ad budgets are following them. In June 2025, streaming accounted for 46% of all TV time in the United States, overtaking cable and broadcast combined. Meanwhile, linear TV still commands significant attention—especially among older audiences and during live events—making it an essential channel for many campaigns.

For advertisers, the question isn’t which medium will “win.” It’s how tobalance the mass reach of linear with the precision and measurability of CTV. This article explores how each channel works, the advantages and drawbacks of both, and when a hybrid strategy makes sense. You’ll walk away with a clear roadmap for matching objectives, audience, and spend to the right CTV–linear mix.

What is linear TV?

Linear television refers to traditional broadcast and cable television programming delivered at scheduled times. Viewers tune in to networks or channels according to fixed timetables, and advertising slots are sold based on those schedules. Despite the growth of streaming, linear TV continues to play a major role in reaching large audiences across the United States.

How linear TV advertising works

Linear TV ads are delivered in commercial breaks during scheduled programming. Advertisers typically purchase slots through two main markets:

• Upfronts: bulk buys made months in advance, securing prime inventory at set prices.
• Scatter market: shorter-term purchases closer to airtime, often at higher rates.

Buys are usually negotiated by demographics (for example, adults 30–40) and geographic markets. Every viewer watching that program in a given market sees the same ad. Measurement is panel-based, relying on services like Nielsen ratings to estimate reach and frequency.

Advantages of linear TV ads

Linear TV still delivers benefits that other formats struggle to match:‍

1. Mass reach: A single primetime spot can reach millions in one airing. In fact, live sports and major events on linear still draw audiences that streaming services rarely match.
2. High co-viewing: Families and groups often watch together, multiplying exposure for each airing.
3. Brand safety: Ads run alongside regulated, professionally produced content, ensuring minimal risk of adjacency to unsafe material.
4. Ad acceptance: Viewers are conditioned to expect ad breaks on traditional TV, making interruptions feel more natural.‍
5. Cost per impression: While upfront commitments are large, linear CPMs often run lower than CTV, typically in the $10–$15 range.

Disadvantages of linear TV advertising

That said, linear TV presents clear drawbacks for modern advertisers:

• ‍Declining viewership: Younger audiences are spending far less time with traditional television. Streaming surpassed cable and broadcast combined, taking 46 of TV time in June this year.

Younger audiences have already moved on: 18–34-year-olds log close to 2 hours daily on TV-connected devices, more than double the time they give traditional TV. That shift will drive linear’s daily share down to 21.3% and ad spend to just 11.2% by 2026.

• ‍Limited targeting: Ads can only be targeted by broad demographics and regions. Individual-level targeting isn’t possible, which can lead to wasted impressions.
• ‍Measurement gaps: Ratings panels provide estimates, not exact impression counts, and it’s difficult to connect exposure to direct outcomes.
• High entry cost: National campaigns require significant upfront spend, putting linear out of reach for smaller advertisers.
• Audience skew: More than 70% of linear ad impressions are seen by adults over 55, making it less efficient for brands targeting younger consumers.
• Lack of transparency: Compared to digital channels, advertisers have less control and visibility over performance—an issue amplified by walled garden dynamics when linear TV is bundled with digital platforms.

What is connected TV (CTV)?

Connected TV (CTV) refers to television content streamed over the internet on smart TVs, set-top devices like Roku or Fire TV, or through apps such as Hulu, Peacock, or YouTube TV. Unlike linear TV’s fixed schedules, CTV gives viewers on-demand access to shows, films, and live programming—plus digital-level precision for advertisers.

How CTV advertising works

CTV ads appear within streaming content in much the same way as commercials on traditional TV, but the buying and delivery are different. Advertisers typically purchase CTV inventory programmatically, targeting households or individuals based on demographics, geography, interests, or past behavior. Ad formats include standard 15- and 30-second spots, interactive overlays, QR code placements, and shoppable ads. Measurement is digital by nature: every impression is logged, and advertisers can track completion rates, frequency, and even post-exposure actions like website visits or app downloads.

‍CTV remains one of the few ad channels attracting more dollars—56% of global marketers planned to boost OTT/CTV spend in 2025.

Advantages of CTV advertising

CTV brings a range of benefits that make it increasingly attractive to advertisers:

• ‍Expanding reach: By 2026 CTV will make up an estimated 20% of adults’ daily media time (up from just 11.5% in 2020)

• ‍Precise targeting: Ads can be delivered at the household or audience-segment level, cutting waste and boosting relevance.
• Performance tracking: 65% of marketers report increased sales when they add CTV to other paid channels.
• High completion rates: Around 95% of CTV ads are viewed to completion, far higher than many online video formats.
• Interactive formats: Shoppable ads, pause ads, and QR codes let viewers engage directly.

Ads on CTV spark nearly twice the buying response of linear—23% vs. 12%.

• Accessibility for smaller advertisers: Self-serve platforms enable campaigns with budgets that would be impossible on national linear TV.

Disadvantages of CTV advertising

CTV’s rapid growth also comes with challenges:

1. Fragmented inventory: Audiences are spread across dozens of platforms, so buyers often need multiple partners to achieve scale.
2. Higher CPMs: While trending downward, CPMs for premium streaming can exceed $30, compared to linear’s $10–$15 range.
3. Frequency management issues: Without cross-platform coordination, households may be over-exposed to the same ad.
4. Measurement inconsistencies: Each streaming service has its own metrics, and only about one-third of marketers report being able to unify linear and CTV measurement.
5. Ad fraud and brand safety risks: In 2023, nearly half of CTV ads from Fortune 500 brands were found on questionable or fraudulent streaming channels.‍
6. Limited ad supply on premium services: Many ad-supported tiers cap ad loads at 4–6 minutes per hour, restricting available inventory even as viewership climbs.

Key differences between linear vs connected TV

Although both linear TV and CTV put ads on the same screen, the mechanics behind them are very different. From how programs are delivered to how audiences are measured and ads are bought, the contrasts shape what each channel can deliver to advertisers.

Content delivery and viewing experience

Linear TV is bound to fixed schedules. Viewers tune in at designated times for programs broadcast via cable, satellite, or over the air. Ad breaks are longer and more frequent, typically 12–16 minutes per hour. 

By contrast, CTV delivers shows and films over the internet through apps on smart TVs or devices like Roku and Fire TV. Viewers choose what to watch and when, and ad loads are lighter—often just 4–6 minutes per hour on ad-supported tiers. This shift gives streaming audiences more control, but it also makes them harder to reach at scale on a single platform.

Most of the streaming today is still ad‑free or ad‑lite. It’s only about 15% of the time that ad time is being streamed as compared to linear. — Dave Morgan, Simulmedia CEO 

Targeting capabilities

Linear TV targeting is blunt: advertisers buy slots based on program genres, dayparts, and broad demographics such as adults 35–54. Every household watching that show in a region sees the same ad. 

CTV changes this model. Advertisers can target at the household or individual level, using data on age, income, interests, past purchases, or geography. For example, a carmaker can serve different creative to “auto intenders” and to general audiences watching the same program. This precision is why 84% of advertisers consider CTV’s targeting superior to linear’s.

… we are seeing demand for big TV advertisers to efficiently target against hyper-local audiences and geographies at national scale. — Adam Helfgott, CEO at Madhive

Measurement and analytics

Linear TV relies on panel-based ratings like Nielsen to estimate audiences. Advertisers get reach, frequency, and GRPs, but they cannot see exact impression counts or directly connect exposure to conversions. 

CTV provides digital-style reporting: logged impressions, completion rates, frequency capping, and attribution data that ties ad exposures to downstream actions such as website visits or app installs. That said, fragmentation is a hurdle—only 32% of marketers report being able to measure unified cross-screen performance across linear and CTV.

Fragmentation is a key pain point, with more than half of marketers citing limited cross-channel visibility, fragmented measurement and data silos as persistent hurdles.” — Karsten Weide, principal and chief analyst for W Media Research

Ad formats and interactivity

Linear TV spots are typically 15, 30, or 60 seconds, shown to every viewer during a program’s ad break. The format is one-way, with no option for direct engagement. 

CTV carries over these traditional formats but adds new possibilities: interactive overlays, QR codes, shoppable ads, and pause ads. Streaming platforms can also rotate creative dynamically based on viewer profiles, showing different messages to different households. These interactive elements are helping advertisers drive mid- and lower-funnel actions that linear cannot support.

From a performance and creative perspective, when you leverage advanced creative formats [in CTV], interactive creative performs much better than standard creative … we see about a 93% video completion rate, which is 10 % higher than standard video. — Dan Mouradian, VP–Global Client Solutions, Innovid

Cost structure

Linear TV is bought through upfront commitments and scatter buys, with costs negotiated against broad audience estimates. CPMs often fall in the $10–$15 range, but advertisers must buy in bulk to secure scale, creating high entry barriers. 

CTV, on the other hand, is usually purchased programmatically with flexible budgets. CPMs are higher—often $30–$50, though declining as more ad supply enters the market. While more expensive per impression, CTV’s targeting reduces wasted reach, which can make effective CPMs competitive, especially for niche audiences.

If a $30 CPM on CTV delivers a 3× return on ad spend compared to a $10 CPM on social media, the higher cost is justified. — Dan Larkman, Keynes Digital via AdExchanger 

Current trends and market data for linear TV vs connected TV

Television advertising is shifting decisively toward streaming, though linear TV still plays a role in large-scale campaigns. Several trends highlight where advertisers are investing and how audiences are watching. 

💡 For deeper numbers and breakdowns, see the article on connected TV statistics.

1. Streaming surpasses linear in viewing time. As mentioned, CTV accounted for 46% of all U.S. TV time in June 2026. Linear TV (broadcast + cable) dipped below 50% of viewing for the first time in 2023 and keeps sliding. The gap is stark by age: in 2025, viewers 50–64 still spend about 63% of their TV time on linear, while 18–24-year-olds spend just ~18%. The median linear viewer is now about 55, with adults 55+ making up the bulk of consumption. By contrast, CTV is nearly universal among younger audiences—more than 80% of U.S. teens 13–18 stream on connected devices.

Cable keeps shrinking: over 30 million households have left since 2019, shifting to streaming and CTV. In Q2 2024 alone, 1.62 million cut the cord, dropping total pay TV households to 68 million.

2. Ad spending is following audiences. U.S. CTV ad spend passed $20 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow another 12–13% in 2025, reaching around $25 billion. By contrast, linear TV ad spend is projected to shrink from $60.56 billion in 2024 to $56.83 billion in 2027.‍
3. Ad-supported streaming adoption is surging. By early 2024, 75% of U.S. households subscribed to at least one ad-supported streaming service, and there were over 170 million ad-supported subscriptions in total—nearly double the year before. Free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels also grew quickly, reaching more than 111.5 million monthly users in 2024.

1. Pricing dynamics are shifting. As platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video introduced ad tiers, the surge in inventory began to push CPMs downward. By 2025, only Netflix and Max maintained average CPMs above $30, while most other platforms priced lower. Linear CPMs remain lower, but declining ratings mean fewer impressions are available, keeping demand high for marquee events.
2. Cross-channel planning is becoming essential. Studies show advertisers who combine CTV with linear achieve significantly higher reach—up to 32% more compared with linear-only campaigns). This hybrid effect is driving investment in unified planning tools, including AI-powered platforms that help optimize spend and reduce wasted frequency.

💡 See how AI is changing TV advertising and what it means for your brand: The Rise of AI in TV Advertising 

When to use linear TV vs CTV

The smarter choice between CTV and linear is the one that best matches your goals, audience, and sector.

Campaign objectives and audience profiles

Linear TV is most effective when campaigns are built around mass awareness. If you need to reach tens of millions quickly—such as launching a national product, building brand equity, or sponsoring live sports—linear remains unmatched. It also skews older: with a median viewer age of 55, linear is the most effective channel when seniors are the priority.

CTV excels when the goal is precision and measurable outcomes. Advertisers can zero in on defined audience segments, retarget existing customers, and track performance down to conversions. This makes it well-suited to campaigns aimed at younger demographics, niche products, or lower-funnel objectives such as driving app installs or online sales.

Budget considerations

Linear TV demands scale. National campaigns often require upfront commitments worth millions of dollars. That creates high entry barriers, but also efficient reach for brands with broad targets.

CTV is more accessible. Self-serve platforms and programmatic buying allow advertisers to start with modest budgets—sometimes under $50,000—though CPMs can be higher, averaging $30–$50 depending on the platform. For smaller or regional brands, this flexibility makes CTV the first viable path into television advertising.

Industry-specific use cases

Different sectors approach TV advertising with distinct priorities. The choice between linear and CTV often depends on how a brand balances mass awareness with precise targeting: 

• Automotive: National carmakers still depend on linear TV for broad awareness but increasingly use CTV to target “auto intenders.” One campaign with Vizio identified in-market households and generated more than 2,600 car sales, delivering a $31.9 return on ad spend.‍
• Retail and QSR (quick-service restaurants): Linear ads during live sports or primetime shows reach mass audiences. CTV can then retarget nearby households with local offers and promotions.

• Entertainment and media: Movie studios and streaming services rely on linear for high-profile tentpole events but supplement with CTV to reach younger audiences and drive direct ticket or subscription sales.
• Healthcare and insurance: Providers targeting seniors often prioritize linear placements during news and daytime TV. For younger segments, CTV enables more focused household targeting.‍
• Political advertising: Linear delivers visibility during debates and local news, while CTV has grown rapidly for voter targeting. Between 2020 and 2024, political CTV spending grew more than 500%, making it indispensable for modern campaigns.

Hybrid approach: Combining CTV and linear TV

Instead of picking one channel, most advertisers now run campaigns across both linear and connected TV. Each channel covers the other’s blind spots: linear delivers fast, nationwide reach, while CTV adds precision, younger audiences, and measurable outcomes.

Studies show the effect clearly: advertisers that layer CTV onto linear campaigns achieve up to 32% higher total reach than linear alone. This incremental reach is particularly valuable among cord-cutters and light-TV viewers who can’t be captured through traditional schedules.

A hybrid strategy also improves frequency management. Running on both channels ensures broad awareness while avoiding wasted impressions. For example:

• A quick-service restaurant might use linear spots during national sports broadcasts to establish brand presence, then deploy CTV ads targeted to households near specific locations with limited-time offers.
• An automaker can run linear campaigns for a new model launch while using CTV to retarget households flagged as in-market car buyers, moving them closer to purchase.

The real advantage is cross-channel reinforcement. Reaching the same household via both linear and streaming improves brand recall and increases the likelihood of action. But to capture this value, advertisers need unified planning and measurement. Without it, over-frequency and fragmented reporting can erode efficiency.

This is where AI-powered planning and optimization platforms are making an impact, helping marketers align spend across linear and CTV, deduplicate audiences, and tie outcomes back to business goals.

How Elevate delivers more impact in CTV campaigns

Choosing between CTV and linear TV is only part of the challenge. Advertisers also need tools that bring clarity to fragmented streaming platforms, unify reporting across channels, and keep campaigns focused on business outcomes. Elevate was built to do exactly that.

1. Smarter planning: The Elevate Planner uses AI-driven forecasting and contextual, cookieless targeting to create campaign plans in under a minute. It produces realistic projections for reach, attention, and accountability scores, helping advertisers design campaigns that are efficient from the start. Its DSP-agnostic approach means strategies aren’t locked into the priorities of any single platform.
2. Unified campaign insights: The Elevate Campaigns dashboard consolidates performance from CTV campaigns into a single, unbiased view. It goes beyond media metrics by tracking revenue, ROAS, and brand outcomes such as lift and attention. For senior decision-makers, this provides the context needed to understand not just how ads ran, but what they achieved.
3. Optimization that follows your KPIs: Most DSPs optimize campaigns against their own default metrics. Elevate’s Optimization engine takes a different approach: it aligns campaigns with marketer-defined KPIs. Whether the priority is upper-funnel brand awareness or lower-funnel conversions, Elevate’s Impact Score shows where changes will have the greatest effect, guiding both budget reallocation and creative adjustments in real time.‍
4. Clearer reporting and guidance: With Elevate Insights, advertisers can ask questions in plain language—“Which audience drove the highest ROAS?”—and receive instant answers. Its analytics engine detects anomalies, predicts trends, and visualizes results in ways that help both junior planners and senior leaders make faster, more confident decisions.

💡 With Elevate, CTV becomes accountable. The platform brings clarity to messy metrics, aligns budgets with outcomes, and ensures your campaigns deliver measurable growth. Reach out to AI Digital today to power your next big move.

Conclusion: Choosing between CTV and linear TV for your campaign

Linear TV and CTV are not interchangeable. Each offers distinct advantages: linear remains the fastest path to mass reach and is particularly strong with older audiences and live events, while CTV delivers precision, interactivity, and measurable outcomes that advertisers increasingly demand. The most effective campaigns often combine both, using linear to build broad awareness and CTV to drive targeted engagement and performance.

Here are five practical recommendations to guide your decision:

1. Define your objectives first. If awareness across millions of households is the goal, prioritize linear. If performance metrics like sales, app installs, or site visits matter most, invest more heavily in CTV.
2. Match the channel to your audience. Linear is more efficient for adults 50+, while CTV is essential for reaching younger, streaming-first demographics.
3. Balance reach and efficiency. Hybrid campaigns consistently deliver higher total reach and better recall, while keeping frequency under control.
4. Plan for transparency and measurement. Use tools that consolidate reporting across both linear and CTV to avoid duplicate reach and wasted spend.
5. Test and scale. Start with smaller CTV budgets if new to the channel, then scale investment as performance data validates outcomes.

TV works best when it’s managed as a whole, not split into either/or. By tying channel choices to goals, audience, and budget, advertisers can deliver bigger impact with less waste.

If you’re unsure how to unlock CTV’s potential or get more from your campaigns, AI Digital can help. We work across DSPs with AI-powered planning, measurement, and brand-safe supply to maximize ROI. And with our Open Garden model, you stay in control while scaling results across CTV and beyond. Reach out today.