CTV doubles ad share as linear TV budgets decline

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The “2025 State of Programmatic Report” by Proximic, a division of Comscore, highlights the continued expansion of programmatic advertising, with significant budget shifts toward Connected TV (CTV) and privacy-first strategies.
The annual report provides data-driven insights into media buying trends, underscoring critical changes in how marketers approach digital, linear TV and emerging platforms.
The report reveals that 72% of advertisers plan to increase programmatic spending in 2025.
CTV accounts for much of this growth, doubling its share of ad budgets since 2023 to reach 28%. Nearly half of marketers reallocating their programmatic CTV budgets are shifting funds away from linear TV.
“Connected TV emerged as a clear winner, and privacy-focused strategies like contextual targeting are becoming essential for marketers aiming to deliver highly effective, privacy-centric campaigns,” said Rachel Gantz, managing director at Proximic by Comscore.
The rise of CTV advertising is closely tied to changes in consumer viewing habits as audiences increasingly prefer digital streaming services over traditional TV. The average percentage of media budgets allocated to CTV climbed from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025.
However, challenges persist. While 80% of marketers recognize CTV’s effectiveness for branding campaigns, only 20% consider it suitable for performance marketing, which is often associated with driving direct sales.
According to the report, this disconnect may stem from measurement limitations and creative format constraints. Despite these issues, the high share of impressions with known IDs in CTV (89%) suggests potential for broader use in performance-based campaigns.
With privacy regulations reshaping digital advertising, marketers are embracing cookie-free targeting methods.
By the end of 2025, 48% of marketers anticipate primarily relying on ID-free solutions, such as contextual targeting and first-party data strategies. Contextual targeting, which aligns ads with the content of a webpage or app, is seen as a viable alternative to cookie-based advertising.
Shrinking identifier coverage has accelerated this shift. By late 2024, 54% of mobile impressions and 36% of desktop impressions lacked IDs. Even CTV, which typically enjoys high identifier availability, saw 11% of impressions without IDs.
Privacy remains a top concern for marketers, with 52% planning to increase contextual data usage. Additionally, 80% of respondents emphasized the need for deduplicated reach and frequency measurement, a key metric for ensuring that campaigns reach target audiences without excessive repetition.
Marketers also report growing interest in AI-driven tools to enhance campaign efficiency. As AI adoption expands, it is expected to play a vital role in optimizing programmatic advertising.
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tags
Adtech, Comscore, Connected TV, programmatic
categories
Advertising, Featured, Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis, Streaming