The streaming industry has reached a tipping point. As audiences migrate from traditional broadcast TV to streaming services, advertisers face a landscape demanding increasingly sophisticated, performance-driven strategies. With global streaming ad spending projected to surpass $38 billion by 2027, understanding how these dynamics influence ad investments is essential for marketers and advertisers looking to stay ahead.

From Subscriber Counts to Sustainable Profitability

Streaming has reached widespread adoption, with 90% of streaming-enabled households actively consuming content. However, the industry has moved beyond chasing subscriber numbers—a metric previously overemphasized by Wall Street. Today, profitability and sustainable monetization have taken center stage, shifting platform priorities to content quality, viewer engagement and meaningful ad-supported experiences.

This shift significantly reshapes advertising opportunities, evident in global ad spend forecasts. PwC projects that advertising will represent nearly 28% of streaming revenue by 2028, up from 20% in 2023. As a result, platforms must now refine their ad-supported models to attract both viewers and advertisers seeking premium, impactful placements.

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Netflix and Disney: Defining the Future of Content

By investing strategically in live programming, blockbuster original series and event-driven tentpole content, Netflix has consistently captured and retained viewer attention. The remarkable success of its hit series Squid Game underscores this strategy: the first two seasons alone have reached nearly 600 million views globally. Season one remains Netflix’s most popular series ever, with 265.2 million views, while season two garnered an impressive 192.6 million views, making it the most-watched Netflix premiere week and the third-biggest season overall.

Further strengthening Netflix’s appeal to advertisers is its commitment to live events, especially sports, bolstering its ad-supported tier. The platform’s increasing embrace of programmatic advertising—valued for transparency and performance accountability—is attracting more advertiser dollars and setting a benchmark for the industry.

Disney, likewise, has been leveraging a similar strategic blueprint. Its forthcoming standalone ESPN app highlights a significant focus on live sports and event-based content, capitalizing on marquee rights and powerful IP, including the expansive Star Wars franchise. This commitment was front and center at Disney’s upfronts, clearly signaling to advertisers that high-value inventory and engaging content remain integral to its strategy.

In Q4 2024, Disney’s streaming business delivered $321 million in operating profit, a significant milestone driven in part by the success of its ad-supported model. Approximately 60% of new Disney+ subscribers opted into the ad tier—underscoring consumer willingness to engage with advertising in exchange for cost savings, and demonstrating to brands that these viewers are addressable, scalable and valuable.

While leading platforms see continued success, the broader industry has encountered challenges as streaming inventory outpaces demand. Advertisers, faced with this surplus, are raising their expectations and gravitating towards premium platforms capable of delivering superior inventory quality and performance metrics. Programmatic advertising’s ascension underscores this shift, demanding higher transparency and more measurable outcomes.

The Convergence of Linear and Streaming Budgets

A defining trend in today’s media landscape is the rapid reallocation of traditional TV budgets into CTV. According to the IAB’s 2025 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, 36% of advertisers increasing CTV spend plan to reallocate budgets directly from linear TV, while another 36% are shifting funds away from social media.

These findings underscore a clear shift in momentum: digital video is expected to capture nearly 60% of total TV/video ad spend in 2025—double its share from just five years ago. It builds on a major turning point from 2024, when digital video surpassed linear TV for the first time.

This budget blending is not only accelerating the adoption of streaming but also pushing platforms to deliver measurement and targeting capabilities that match or surpass linear TV’s historical strengths. For advertisers and planners, it means finding the right balance—leveraging the broad reach and cultural impact of linear TV with the precision targeting, flexibility and performance optimization that streaming offers. In this converged environment, strategic media planning must ensure campaigns are sequenced, coordinated and optimized across both channels to maximize reach, frequency and ROI.

The Bottom Line

The streaming land grab is over—now it’s about who can keep audiences happy. Platforms need to design ad experiences that enhance, not disrupt, the show, such as faster, cleaner breaks; tighter, cross-publisher frequency control and privacy-safe relevance that feels helpful, not invasive. When the experience improves, attention follows—and with it, performance.

Attention begins with better experiences. Ultimately, the winners will be the platforms and brands that put user experience first and keep people coming back for more.

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