LG Ad Solutions New Study Finds Viewers, Regardless of Political Affiliation, Increasingly Prefer Streaming Over Linear TV

LG Ad Solutions, a leader in cross-screen advertising, released a new study finding that regardless of political affiliation, CTV and streaming environments will be a must-have environment for political marketers this upcoming election. Among those who had a preference, 57% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 70% of Independents stated they prefer watching streaming TV compared to cable, satellite, and broadcast.

“This research underscores a seismic shift towards streaming across all political affiliations and geographic regions in the U.S. Political marketers must adapt their outreach strategies accordingly, prioritizing CTV and streaming to ensure comprehensive voter engagement.”

The 2024 election marks a historic departure from traditional media strategies, with CTV poised to play a central role in political advertising expenditures. According to forecasts by AdImpact, CTV ad spend is projected to surge by 24% compared to the 2022 midterms to $1.34 billion, surpassing major digital platforms Google and Facebook ($1.2 billion), and doubling projected spending on Network Cable, Satellite, and Radio combined ($671 million).

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“We wanted to understand the affinity for CTV regardless of political affiliation and location across the country and found voters are streaming and are open to receiving political advertising,” said Keith Norman, VP Sales, Political Practice, LG Ad Solutions. “This research underscores a seismic shift towards streaming across all political affiliations and geographic regions in the U.S. Political marketers must adapt their outreach strategies accordingly, prioritizing CTV and streaming to ensure comprehensive voter engagement.”

LG Ad Solutions recent study “The Big Shift: Political Edition,” surveyed over 900 U.S. CTV users who affiliate with a political party also revealed:

• Linear TV Viewership is Few(er) and Far Between – Over the past 12 months, viewers across political parties have begun watching less Linear TV, with Democrats watching 27% less, Republicans watching 35% less, and Independents watching 39% less.
• FAST Environments are Gaining Adoption – Regardless of political affiliation, CTV users in the U.S. prefer free, ad-supported streaming (FAST), with 69% of Democratic, 72% of Republican, and 66% of Independent affiliated viewers stating they prefer it compared to ad-free subscription streaming.
• A vast majority of CTV viewers multitask – 93% of viewers across parties indicated that they multitask across devices while streaming, creating extended opportunities to engage on mobile and desktop.

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The study also found that 68% of democrats, 56% of Independents, and 61% of Republicans are cycling through streaming apps, meaning they have added an app and then canceled or paused an app after watching specific content. This shift in viewer behavior showcases the importance of having a direct-to-glass strategy, which builds a cohesive thread across CTV initiatives ensuring brands don’t miss valuable audiences as they hop from app to app.

“Our direct-to-glass strategy allows political marketers to leverage our proprietary advanced ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data for precise targeting while maintaining reach and frequency control, which hasn’t been possible before,” continued Keith Norman.