Modern TV media buying decoded

Streaming TV is everywhere. It's also confusing, expensive, and easy to buy wrong. This week, we're breaking down the modern TV landscape with Nikki Erkkila, our VP of Media Partnerships. 

Streaming accounts for 47% of all TV viewing. 

November 2025 marked record highs for streaming, with five of the top 10 most-streamed days ever occurring in that month alone. Thanksgiving Day generated over 103 billion minutes of viewing. While TV might be changing forms, it isn’t going anywhere. 

Stop siloing linear and streaming.          

TV is fragmented. Viewers don't think in terms of "linear" or "streaming." They just watch. Marketers need to stop treating these as separate channels and start thinking about modern TV as one reach plan delivered through multiple pipes. 

Here's how to navigate the complexity:

1. Linear still delivers efficient scale. Streaming gets attention, but linear remains a powerful tool for broad reach, especially when bought strategically. Don't write it off just because it feels "old school." 
    
2. Streaming enables incremental reach. CTV excels at finding audiences linear might miss. Think of it as a complement, not a replacement. Together, the right approach can maximize unduplicated reach and manage frequency.
   
   
3. Avoid over-targeting. One of the biggest CTV mistakes you can make is going so narrow you limit scale. Targeting should add incremental reach and avoid obvious waste, not strangle your growth potential.
   
   
4. Measure incrementality, not just dashboards. CTV reports look precise, but are you actually reaching new buyers? Many advertisers give credit to people who were already likely to convert. Use multiple measurement methods to triangulate performance.
   
   
5. Buy TV holistically. Work with a demand-side platform that can optimize across publishers and inventory types. Buying direct from every streaming service separately gets expensive fast and makes frequency management nearly impossible. 
   
   

Listen in on our discussion.

"The Strange State of Sports on Fast TV" 

This article by Manny Souza explores how free ad-supported streaming TV currently makes up only about 6% of total TV viewing despite growing buzz. Sports rights are complex, and many major leagues are moving games back to larger platforms.  

Read the article.

TV isn't broken.        

"Television is not dead. It has just evolved into something more powerful and more accessible."

— Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Netflix 

This newsletter comes from the hosts of The Marketing Architects, a research-first show answering your biggest marketing questions. Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.