By Jonathan Dizney, Senior Marketing Mix Director and Yeimy Garcia-Smith, SVP Global Measurement
As advertisers finalize their Upfront/NewFront planning there’s real urgency to make data-driven decisions about where to allocate their budgets. With TV advertising dollars shifting between linear TV and other formats, marketers have to ask themselves an important question: Is our investment delivering results? While streaming and digital platforms continue to grow — a Circana study shows 75% of U.S. households now subscribe to an ad-supported subscription video on demand (SVOD) service — linear TV remains a critical part of the marketing mix. To better understand how marketers can maximize their impact across channels, Circana tracked TV spend across hundreds of global marketing mix models. The findings were clear: Linear TV offers unique benefits that remain highly relevant in today’s fragmented media landscape. These insights underscore the significance of linear TV and provide actionable strategies for marketers to seamlessly integrate it into their overall investment approach.
Benefits of Linear TV Advertising in 2025
- Linear TV efficiently absorbs marketing spending. Typically, marketers must invest more than $1million per linear TV campaign, especially for large sporting events. Circana’s recent report on successful sports advertising strategies shows the high levels of investment are justified by the significant reach and impact linear TV can achieve. The ability to reach a broad audience through a single channel makes linear TV an efficient medium for large-scale campaigns.
- Linear TV consistently delivers results. The predictability and reliability of linear TV make it a cornerstone for many marketing strategies. Unlike digital platforms where ad performance can be highly variable, linear TV can offer a stable and consistent platform. This consistency is particularly valuable for brands looking to maintain a steady presence in the market and build long-term relationships with their audiences.
- Linear TV helps build longer-term equity. TV can linger in the consumer’s decision-making process for weeks, but the impact of most digital media can be measured in days. TV has one of the largest half-lives among advertising channels, meaning it has a greater impact on sales over a longer period, which is important for building brand equity. The extended half-life of linear TV ads means their sales impact can be seen long after the initial airing, contributing to sustained brand awareness and customer loyalty. The high production value associated with TV ads also enhances brand perception and credibility.
- Linear TV drives strong ROI for brands. Circana’s marketing mix benchmark data shows linear TV return on investment (ROI) benchmarks are around $0.91; most other digital platforms are closer to $1. This means linear TV is a cost-effective channel, thanks to its extensive reach and long-term benefits. And combining high reach and long-term impact can lead to cumulative benefits that enhance campaigns.
- Linear TV complements other advertising channels. Circana studies have shown integrating linear TV with other types of TV, such as streaming and addressable TV, can enhance campaigns. One Circana case study found 4.3% in synergies, the incremental sales generated when media drivers run concurrently, between portfolio mix, using both television and digital contributions. An integrated, multichannel approach allows brands to use each platform’s strengths to achieve reach and improve results.
How to Incorporate Linear TV into Your Marketing Mix Strategy
Linear TV will continue to be an important part of the advertising landscape, but given how quickly media is changing, marketers need to be strategic in how they approach it. Effective campaigns require a balance of investments in linear and other types of TV. Here are four practical tips to make it work effectively.
- Inform and track TV advertising investment decisions For a brand with an annual marketing budget exceeding $5 million, conducting a marketing mix analysis can be valuable. The analysis might reveal reallocating a portion of the budget from linear TV to digital streaming platforms could enhance overall ROI. The marketing mix model could suggest optimal flighting patterns, such as increasing ad spend during peak viewing times on digital platforms while maintaining a steady presence on linear TV. This approach ensures that the brand’s advertising spend is distributed efficiently across TV types.
- Adopt a phased approach to shifting TV spend. Rather than moving on quickly from linear TV, brands should consider a phased approach. This strategy allows them to gradually transition to other TV types while still benefiting from the volume contribution and half-life of linear TV. For example, a brand might start by reallocating 20% of its linear TV budget to digital streaming platforms in the first quarter, monitor performance and audience engagement, and adjust as needed. In the second quarter, the brand could increase the shift to 40%, continuing to analyze results and optimize its strategy. By the end of the year, the brand might have transitioned 60% of its TV spend to digital formats, while still maintaining a presence on linear TV to benefit from its reach and longevity.
- Measure the long-term impact of running TV year over year. Traditional media, like TV, often have longer half-lives than digital media. By maintaining a consistent presence on linear TV, brands can build cumulative effects that enhance long-term brand equity and sales. We recommend brands use a marketing mix vendor that offers a long-term marketing mix, between two to five years, to measure the short- and long-term ROI for TV and all other media tactics.
- Adopt lift measurement to refine TV advertising execution. Marketing mix models provide essential insights into TV’s overall performance, but lift measurement enables marketers to refine execution at a more granular level. We recommend using a lift solution that captures ad exposure files and links them to household-level loyalty card data. Linking ad exposure data to verified household-level purchase data in lift measurement provides a more precise understanding of how TV drives incremental sales. This level of insight is what allows brands to optimize their TV strategies with confidence. Instead of just confirming that TV works, lift analyses can help answer key questions such as:
- Which TV creative delivers the highest impact?
- What audience segments drive the most sales lift? (e.g., household age, income, presence of children)
- Which dayparts generate the strongest results?
- What frequency levels maximize lift without oversaturation?
- How does TV resonate across different consumer demographics, including multicultural audiences?
Linear TV continues to play a vital role in a balanced marketing strategy. By using advanced lift measurement solutions that connect ad exposure data to verified purchase data, marketers can go beyond surface-level insights to fine-tune their linear TV campaigns and enhance their impact. This approach helps brands make smarter investment decisions, improve creative and audience strategies, and ensure every TV dollar generates measurable results.
Frequently Asked Questions About Linear TV Advertising Strategies
What is linear TV advertising?
The term “linear TV” is used to describe traditional television programming. With the advent of streaming services or SVOD, consumers engage with video content in many ways. Linear TV advertising strategies are aimed at traditional television programming through satellite or cable.
What are the differences between linear, connected, and over the top TV systems?
When talking about electronics, linear TV refers to televisions that receive programming via cable or satellite only. Connected TVs or CTVs are connected to the internet which allows the television to stream digital content via SVOD platforms. Over-the-top refers to televisions that get all their content exclusively via the internet and do not have traditional cable or satellite TV in any capacity.
What are upfront and newfront TV advertising strategies?
TV upfront refers to the annual period when TV networks and advertisers negotiate year-long deals. NewFronts refer to NewFronts Marketplace, which is a time during the year when content creators, platforms, and digital media companies share their upcoming content and potential advertising opportunities. Together, these terms refer to the seasonal time of the year when advertisers and content creators (both traditional and streaming) collaborate to plan year-long advertising strategies.
What are the differences between linear TV advertising and advertising on streaming?
Linear TV advertising involves understanding when users are likely watching a specific program. For example, a major part of linear TV advertising strategy is “prime time” or the time slots where viewers are most likely to watch television. Because streaming services are on-demand entertainment, advertisements can be tailored based on user data and audience segmentation, and there is less concern about when an advertisement will be played.
Is linear TV advertising still effective?
A common question companies have is how best to distribute their marketing budgets across different platforms. The prevalence of SVOD services can sometimes lead some companies to think linear TV is no longer relevant or effective. Data tells a different story, though. Linear TV is still effective, but changes in consumers’ media consumption should be considered when planning marketing campaigns. The biggest factor is how you understand your audience and its various segments. If you know who you are trying to reach, you can more accurately plan advertising strategies and effectively measure their impact on your target audience.
