USA: CTV is the fastest-growing major ad channel

Connected TV (CTV) is the fastest-growing primary ad channel in the US, according to Insider Intelligence's latest report, and is projected to grow 22.4% to reach a total of $30.10 billion in 2024. According to the research, integrations with retail media and social media will boost CTV spend, especially as advertisers seek new ways to incorporate first-party data into their audience-targeting strategies.

People are spending more and more time watching CTV. In 2024, US adults will average 123.4 minutes per day with CTV, putting it ahead of desktop/laptop (64.7 minutes) but behind mobile devices (234.8 minutes), per eMarketer's June 2023 forecast. That said, the gap between CTV and mobile is narrowing.

As time spent on CTV increases, so will the ad opportunity. CTV will see sustained double-digit ad spend growth in the US through the end of 2027, according to a March 2023 eMarketer forecast. The format will account for 1 in 10 US digital ad spend dollars in 2024.

CTV is buoying TV ad spend on the whole. CTV ad spend is growing at a faster clip than the rate at which US linear TV ad spend is declining. "CTV is catching up with linear TV, but [a point of inflection] is not likely to happen until probably toward the end of this decade," said eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna.

There are still advantages to linear TV, especially during major events like the Olympics, World Cup, and US elections. Still, most live sports coverage is available via CTV (though coverage is fractured across platforms). Linear can also be useful for reaching older audiences. But "the future is now for CTV," according to Verna.