Majority of political ad budgets in U.S. go to linear television, research
AdImpact, the world’s only integrated ad intel and viewership datasets that contain local broadcast, local cable, and CTV, and Google, have announced a whitepaper, “Tipping Point: How the Shift of Live Sports to Streaming Is Accelerating the Growth of CTV Advertising,” which looks at the changing television landscape and how shifting live sports viewership trends will impact political television advertising.
The whitepaper reveals that while there are now two CTV viewers for every one linear viewer in the United States- and while 45% of ad budgets are moving to streaming globally, political media budgets continue to be dominated by broadcast television, accounting for 58% of spending in the 2020 election cycle, 53% in 2022, and an anticipated 51% in 2024.
However, the increased presence of live sports on streaming, with AdImpact data showing that the weekly share of users watching live sports on streaming has nearly surpassed 50%, might serve as the tipping point that directs more political media budgets towards streaming.
Additionally, turning to streaming platforms can enhance the reach of political advertising campaigns. Google research shows that advertisers who shifted budgets to CTV in key 2022 races were better able to reach their target audiences.
A recent cross-media Google study showed from May through July in the 2022 Georgia Senate race that YouTube reached over 3.5 million people in the campaign’s target audience, and with that audience, over 50% saw a YouTube ad on the TV screen.
Similarly, in October of the 2022 Wisconsin Senate race, linear and YouTube ads combined to reach over 90% of the campaign’s target audience, and over 45% of the YouTube ads were on the TV screen.
Kyle Roberts, CEO, AdImpact: “Reach is a key currency for political advertising campaigns. With the rise of premium inventory on streaming platforms, political advertisers now have a wider range of opportunities to access targeted viewers directly.”
