Gretchen | July 30, 2026 | Blog

Connected TV and its growing command of media budgets for ad-supported streaming TV was the undisputed frontrunner at this year’s annual Upfronts gathering of media companies and ad buyers.

What was once treated as an experimental extension of linear TV has finally become one of the most important delivery systems for reaching modern audiences with full-screen, high-impact, digitally delivered streaming content.

And the ad dollars are following. 

The days when brands and agencies treated CTV as a secondary channel or test budget are over. According to eMarketer’s Digital Video Forecast and Trends Q2 2026 report, U.S. CTV upfront ad spending is projected to reach $17.73 billion in 2026, surpassing primetime linear TV upfront budgets for the first time in history.

That’s more than a milestone, it’s a market correction, and the upfront market clearly reflects that CTV is no longer a side conversation inside a linear-dominated buying season. It is increasingly the main event.

CTV Is Now the Center of Gravity

For decades, linear TV set the terms for television advertising. It offered scale, cultural relevance, appointment viewing, and the emotional power of sight, sound, and motion on the biggest screen in the home. 

For brands, it was the default choice for mass awareness.

That value has not disappeared. Linear TV still has a role to play where broad reach and high impression volume matter, and eMarketer notes in its report that linear will remain relevant because of its scale and higher ad impression volume.

But the center of gravity has shifted.

Audiences are no longer gathered around a single linear schedule. They move across streaming apps, connected devices, FAST channels, live programming, premium video environments, and on-demand experiences. They still want the television experience.

That’s why CTV has become so important. It brings together the emotional impact of television and the intelligence of digital media: targeting, flexibility, data, accountability, and clearer visibility into whether a campaign is working.

CTV is not replacing television. It is becoming the new operating system for television advertising.

The Definition of TV Value Is Changing

The rise of CTV is not only about where media dollars are moving, it’s about how brands and agencies now define value.

The old upfront model was largely built around reach: securing enough inventory to put a message in front of a large audience. Reach still matters, but advertisers increasingly want to understand who they are reaching, where their ads are running, what actions those ads are driving, and how media investment connects to broader business outcomes.

eMarketer’s report highlights that advertisers are prioritizing measurable outcomes like conversions and sales lift, while demanding better data access, more precise audience targeting, and outcome-based guarantees.

Measurement and attribution are becoming just as important as pricing in negotiations.

Instead of simply asking, “How much reach can I buy?” advertisers are now asking: Where is this inventory coming from? What audiences am I actually reaching? What data will I receive? How will performance be measured? What happens if goals are not met? How do I balance premium placements with broader, performance-driven campaigns?

The future of TV advertising is not just bigger audiences on bigger screens. It’s smarter, more accountable, and more connected to business results.

Macroeconomics May Stymie Budgets, But Not Momentum

The broader advertising market is still facing uncertainty. Economic volatility, geopolitical conflict, energy prices, and category-specific softness may make some advertisers more cautious in the near term. 

But that uncertainty does not erase the larger trend. In fact, it may make CTV even more important.

When budgets are under pressure, brands need media that works harder. They need campaigns that combine reach with targeting, premium storytelling with measurement, and audience scale with the ability to optimize.

That’s where CTV is especially well positioned. It sits at the intersection of television’s creative power and digital media’s performance discipline, giving advertisers a way to make video investment more accountable, even in a cautious market.

Sports Still Commands a Premium But the Broader Opportunity Is Bigger

Live sports remains one of the most valuable environments in television. Scarcity, audience attention, and cultural relevance continue to make sports a premium buy, and eMarketer notes in its report that sports and tentpole live events are expected to command higher prices because of strong demand.

The report also notes that CTV CPMs for major global sports events such as the World Baseball Classic and World Cup ranged from $60 to $120, while non-sports inventory falls between $25 and $40 CPMs.

But the growth of CTV is not only a sports story.

The broader opportunity is the expansion of premium streaming environments across entertainment, news, lifestyle, local, multicultural, FAST, live, and on-demand programming. That gives advertisers more ways to reach audiences throughout the viewing day, not only around the most expensive tentpole moments.

For brands and agencies, the opportunity is to build a more balanced video strategy: one that uses high-impact placements where they matter most, while also taking advantage of CTV’s broader scale, flexibility, targeting, and measurement capabilities.

New TV Is Built Around CTV

CTV’s rise past primetime linear TV upfront ad spending marks a major turning point for the industry. It confirms what audiences have already made clear: television is still powerful, but the way people access it has changed.

For advertisers, the takeaway is straightforward: CTV is no longer optional. It is no longer experimental. It is no longer the digital extension of a traditional TV plan. 

CTV is now one of the most important ways brands and agencies reach viewers on the biggest screen in the home, with the targeting, flexibility, transparency, and accountability modern media plans require.

To learn how OrkaTV helps brands and agencies reach real audiences across premium CTV and FAST environments, contact us today at erin@orka.tv