When was TV’s ‘golden age?’
Ask a member of each generation, and you'll get all different answers. Maybe you think of the big brand commercials of the 90s. ‘Got Milk?’ and Apple’s ‘Think Different’ remain examples of truly iconic TV advertising. But your aunt remembers watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV as a kid, and her favorite commercial is Tootsie Pop’s “How Many Licks.” How could that not be TV’s obvious golden age?
The official ‘Golden Age of Television’ spanned from 1948 to 1959, when the channel became America’s primary mass medium and shows like Leave It to Beaver and I Love Lucy were taking over televisions across the country.
But defining a single ‘golden age’ is tricky—every new era brings creative and technological breakthroughs that change how we think about TV's impact.
TV has a long history of reinvention.
In 2011, French academic Alexis Pichard argued that TV only reached its ultimate form in the early 2000s, as prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad gained popularity. The TV shows were serious—and secured serious budgets. The 10-episode first season of Game of Thrones cost between $50 and $60 million, and budgets only grew with the show’s notoriety. In 2019, the producers spent a whopping $15 million on the final episode.
One could also argue that TV’s golden era is even more recent. Traditional television viewing saw growth until 2011. And according to eMarketer, linear TV advertising only reached its peak in 2018. Today, Statista reports there are more TV households in the U.S. than there have ever been before. That would be 125 million, up from 116 million in 2015 and just 102 million in 2000.
TV constantly reinvents itself, captivating new generations and finding fresh ways to improve. So is it crazy to think TV’s best days aren’t behind us? Or that we might yet enter another ‘golden age?’ Could 2025 be a year when TV becomes more accessible, relevant, and effective than ever before?
The state of traditional TV in 2025.
Today, linear TV is slowing. But it’s far from dead.
According to Nielsen, linear TV still commands more than half of total TV viewing time for people aged two and up, and 92% of TV households in the U.S. still watch some linear programming.
Plus, some linear viewership, like live sports viewing, is actually growing. Which makes sense, given that 73% of consumers say the ability to watch live TV is very important to them. Besides, linear viewing happens in more ways than you might think—the rise of linear streaming, where people watch linear content through digital pay TV services like YouTube TV is one example.
Even more tellingly, advertisers continue to invest heavily in linear TV. It remains the second-largest marketing channel by ad spend, after digital. And interestingly, 73% of marketers see their linear TV investment holding steady or growing over the next two to three years according to survey findings.
People still buy based on what they see on TV, too. 81% of TV viewers say a TV ad has influenced a purchase decision, and 63% report finding new brands and products through TV commercials.
Connected TV advertising is on the rise.
But of course, linear TV isn’t the only form of TV anymore. Nielsen reports that in just five years, the number of U.S. households accessing TV content via internet connection has increased by more than 210%. Today, more than 70% of homes have a smart TV, and 83% of Americans are subscribed to a video streaming service.
Connected TV ad spend is also on the rise. eMarketer reports that 2024 ad spend will exceed $28 billion by the end of the year.
Part of this growth is simply due to more streaming advertising opportunities. Five years ago, there were just 84 million AVOD (Ad-based Video-on-Demand) viewers. Today, there are more than 180 million. Plus, viewership of FASTs (Free Ad-Supported TV) has more than tripled since 2018. In the first half of 2023 alone, nearly one in five U.S. consumers replaced a paid subscription service with a FAST, opting to watch ads in exchange for free content.
Streaming providers noticed this trend—and responded. While platforms like Hulu have always offered ad-supported tiers, ad-free subscription models were the default for most streaming services for years. But Max rolled out an ad tier in 2020. Netflix and Disney launched ad tiers at the end of 2022. And Amazon, one of the last major holdouts, joined the club in 2024, offering limited advertising on Prime Video.
How marketers are thinking about the combined power of linear and CTV.
If you ask marketers about TV’s ‘golden era,’ they also split down generational divides according to survey results. Those 35 and older typically cite the 70s. Or even, surprisingly, the 2020s. Younger marketers mention the 2000s.
But ask marketers about TV’s power as a marketing tool, and they’re much more united. Almost 60% rate TV’s importance to their marketing strategy at an eight or higher on a scale from one to ten.
Because if you account for viewership across linear and streaming, TV has never been better. Total time spent with both forms of TV is only growing, with the average American spending just over 5 hours a day consuming TV content. And the number of people watching is also on the rise, with 2024’s projected viewership up to 251 million from 247 million in 2022.
Looking ahead, 88% of marketers believe TV will play a major or moderate role in their marketing mix. A mere 1% say it’ll play no role. And senior marketers and C-suite executives are especially optimistic about both TV’s future in their marketing efforts and the channel’s growing effectiveness. More than half believe TV will only grow more effective with time.
What does TV’s next golden age look like?
But for that vision of the future to become reality, for us to unlock TV’s next golden era, marketers need an inclusive approach that integrates both linear and CTV. An approach that harnesses the strengths of both forms of the channel to create more effective, efficient campaigns.
TV’s always been transforming. Admittedly, its latest transformation, while new and exciting, leads to a lot of questions. But that’s exactly what makes me think we might be on the verge of TV’s most magical evolution yet.
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