WARC Report:Global TV Ad Spend Drops Maasively As More Viewers Transition To Streaming
Latest Global Ad Trends report from World Advertising Research Center (WARC) has revealed that global linear TV spend has dropped to $143.9 billion as more viewers transition to streaming.
The report tagged, “Global Ad Trends: The Changing Shape of TV” explores a decade of ad spend data to point out linear TV’s decline and connected TV’s (CTV) reactive rise. The report examines why definitions of ‘TV’ are fracturing, and considers how an array of forces within data, device, and creative will shape its future.
Commenting on the report, Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media, said, “There’s no doubt that Linear TV’s role is slowly waning, both in viewing and ad spend, as audiences shift to the expanding ecosystem of CTV. However, new players such as Big Tech and retail media sellers hope TV can help them win brand dollars, and smart TV makers are creating their own ad-funded TV channels.
“As consumers move seamlessly from one form of video to the next, advertisers are being challenged to reappraise how they define TV – be it a specific type of video ad format, a media owner or simply the largest screen in the home – with important implications for planning and buying, frequency management and measurement.”
According to the report, linear TV represents just 12.4% of global ad spend, down from 41.3% in 2013. Between 2014 and 2024, linear TV ad spend worldwide declined by 27.5% in absolute terms – extending to a 50.8% drop when adjusting for inflation. There are sector variations: linear TV spend for tech and electronics has fallen by 42%, while household and domestic products have increased by 12%.
Linear TV still commands more than three-quarters of all TV investment; however, increasingly brands are rebalancing TV spend towards CTV, which now accounts for nearly half of all TV usage in the US, per Nielsen.
The total video market – excluding social video and YouTube – is forecast to take a 15.9% share of spend in 2025, per WARC Media forecasts. Linear TV now represents just 12.4% of total ad spend ($143.9bn), down from 41.3% in 2013, and is expected to drop to 11.3% next year to $139.1bn – the lowest since 2005.
The report states that marketers are showing significant intent to increase spend on CTV, which is set to reach $39.9bn this year (3.4% of total share) and grow 3.6% in 2026 to $44.7bn. Globally, 56% of marketers plan to boost OTT/CTV budgets, up from 53% in 2024, according to Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketer report, which suggests strong growth in the Americas, but less so in APAC and Europe.
While TV audiences as a whole are shifting decisively from linear to streaming, the changes appear to be starker among younger viewers.
Consumers easily switch between video distributors and devices, but for advertisers, the definition of TV has never been more contested. What once was a stable, shared medium is fragmenting in both definition and delivery, which in turn is impacting planning. This means how TV is bought and measured is also being rewritten.
Also, YouTube is making a concerted play for TV ad dollars. The platform earns a rapidly growing amount of revenue from ads displayed on CTV screens, and TV companies themselves are looking to boost monetisation by distributing content on YouTube.
The next decade in TV will be defined by data convergence, device gatekeepers, platform-fit creative, and new buying models.
Less standardisation of non-broadcast ad formats means fewer reasons to treat the 30-second spot as the default. Some brands are experimenting with interactivity like QR codes, shoppable overlays, and gaming integrations. AI will also be a disruptor.
Small brands are a key target for TV media owners. The largest brands in the world spend, on average 38% of ad budgets on TV; among smaller brands, that falls to 9%. A shift to programmatic selling in CTV may open the medium to a new share of advertisers.