Television outperforms other ad channels for recall in new Comcast Advertising study

Comcast Advertising released findings from its 2026 “TV Makes Memories” report, which examined how television advertising affects brand recall and consumer behavior when combined with other media channels.

The study, conducted in partnership with research firm MediaScience, included 891 participants across in-lab and in-home environments. Participants were shown 30-second ads in streaming TV, social media, streaming audio and search environments. Researchers measured results using biometrics (including eye tracking, cardiac deceleration and neurometric intensity) alongside post-exposure surveys. Participants were exposed to an even mix of well-known and lesser-known brands.

The study found that viewers were 26% more likely to look at a brand message when shown a TV ad compared to a mobile ad, and spent 36% more time viewing that message. When a mobile ad followed a TV ad, focused attention – measured by cardiac deceleration, a brief slowing of heart rate associated with concentrated focus – was 6% higher than in mobile-only exposures.

Unaided brand recall was higher with two TV ad exposures than with two exposures in social media, audio streaming or search environments. Compared to social media, TV produced 2.2 times higher recall. Compared to audio streaming, the figure was 2.1 times. The gap was widest against search, where TV-exposed viewers showed 12.4 times higher unaided brand recall than those who saw only search ads.

Cross-channel effects

The study also measured what happened when a TV ad was added to another channel’s ad exposure.

When paired with a social media ad, unaided brand recall rose to 42%, compared to 24% for two social media ads alone, a 1.8 times increase. The likelihood of a website visit increased 110% when TV was added to the social media condition.

Adding a TV ad to a podcast exposure raised recall from 27% to 44%, a 1.6 times increase. Participants were also 207% more likely to seek additional information about a brand when TV was paired with audio streaming, the largest action-related lift observed across all channel combinations.

The largest recall gap appeared in the search condition. Two search ads produced a 5% unaided recall rate. Adding a TV ad brought that figure to 40% — an 8.7 times increase. Likelihood to discuss the brand with others increased 119% when TV was combined with search.

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“It’s one thing to capture attention, it’s another thing to create a memory that elevates engagement. TV does both of these things better than any other medium,” said Dawn Lee Williamson, chief revenue officer, Media Solutions at Comcast Advertising. “That credibility is what powers the entire funnel and transforms awareness into trust and trust into business outcomes.”

TV and AI search

The report also examined the effect of AI-generated search summaries on brand recall. According to the study, brand recall decreased 23% in search environments featuring AI-generated summaries compared to traditional search results. The report attributed this to increased cognitive load — the mental effort required to process a more complex results page — which the researchers said reduces a user’s ability to form and retain brand memories.

The study found that pairing TV with search advertising offset some of that effect. Brand recall increased when a TV ad was added to a search exposure, regardless of whether that search environment included an AI-generated summary or a traditional results list. Likelihood to seek more information, read reviews or visit a brand website also increased when paid search followed TV exposure.