Live Sports, the Presidential Election, and Streaming Growth Signal a Shift in Consumer Viewing Habits as AI-powered Targeting Unlocks New Advertising Opportunities

Ads Miss Key Audiences, with Higher-Income Households Receiving 15-20% Fewer Ads

Samba TV, the global leader in AI technology for media analytics, released its State of Viewership Report for the second half of 2024, analyzing 51 billion hours of linear and streaming TV consumption to uncover key trends and emerging opportunities shaping the future of television and advertising. The report highlights a surge in total television viewership driven by major live events, ad-supported streaming gaining widespread adoption, and the growing impact of AI-powered contextual targeting in transforming advertising effectiveness.

“Live events are the new battleground of audience engagement—transforming passive viewers into active participants while rewriting the rules of media consumption,” said Samba TV Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “As streaming and linear audiences converge around live sports, we’re witnessing a seismic shift where AI-driven insights turn fragmented viewership into strategic opportunity, turning every screen into a precision-targeted canvas of brand connection.”

Samba TV’s State of Viewership Report breaks down the latest trends in linear and Connected TV (CTV), revealing how audiences engage across traditional broadcast and OTT platforms. Packed with insights, it uncovers the shifting dynamics of TV consumption and the key forces reshaping the industry.

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Key findings from the report include:

Ad-Supported Streaming Surges, Unlocking Premium Inventory

• TV consumption soared in late 2024—streaming hours up 56% YoY, linear TV at a two-year high (+8%)—driven by the Presidential election, Olympics, crime shows and docudramas.
• Netflix drives the broadest media consumption, with 72% watching multiple shows. Rivals struggle with single-title stickiness—spotlighting the need for better content discovery.
• Ads drive viewership: Audiences exposed to promos for top streaming shows are as much as 7x more likely to watch. A halo effect fuels deeper content discovery, boosting retention and cutting churn.
• Of all the streamers, Prime Video led the way with promotional advertising during the second half (impressions up 72%), capitalizing on the new ad-tier launch and continuing to focus on live sporting events like Thursday Night Football.
• Overall, ad-supported streaming continues to surge, with 56% of new streaming subscriptions opting for an ad-supported option.

Live Sports & Politics Dominate, Redefining Audience Engagement

• Viewership of the presidential debates beat the NFL by more than 10M households, proving politics can pull Super Bowl-sized audiences. The Paris Olympics drew massive crowds, up 11% from both Tokyo and 25% from Beijing, with women’s sports leading double-digit growth. NBCU leveraged the Olympics to drive significant subscription growth for Peacock through extensive live and on-demand programming.
• Streamers bet big on live sports—Thursday Night Football (TNF) and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight drove record sign-ups for Prime Video and Netflix respectively. TNF’s average viewership increased by 51% year-over-year, validating the strategy to expand the NFL’s digital distribution footprint.
• Max’s The Penguin and Paramount+’s Landman were the top shows of the half, breaking through Netflix’s expansive approach to content with strategic investments with existing fanbases. However, 33 of the top 50 streaming shows were on Netflix.
• The Harris vs. Trump debate topped linear ratings and the majority swing states showed a clear preference for FOX News over MSNBC, offering early signals about which way the country was leaning. Meanwhile, campaign ads blanketed U.S. households, shaping voter sentiment.

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Ad Spend Isn’t Enough—Winning Brands Crack the Code on Targeting and Engagement

• Half of TV households see 150 ads daily, yet high-income households get 15 fewer per day than lower-income households, exposing a major inefficiency in reaching affluent, streaming-first consumers.
• Entertainment (18%), Pharma (12%), Health & Beauty (11%), and Food & Beverage (9%) drive nearly half of TV ad volume. Insurance lags at 4%, but Progressive continues to have the most ad impressions of any brand on TV.
• Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Walmart flooded holiday ad rankings, concentrating budgets during peak shopping months, while some retailers and restaurants pulled back—leaving room for challengers.
• Capital One dominated MLB World Series Game 5 logo exposure (2.6B impressions), while Mastercard (34 intervals) reached similar households with fewer touchpoints—highlighting high-frequency vs. broad-placement strategies.
• Contextual targeting connects Attention to Intention for top holiday retailers, with Macy’s driving the most media impressions, Walmart receiving the most positive online conversations, and Amazon receiving the lowest positive and lowest negative sentiment.

Navin continued, “While on a multi-year downward trend, even linear TV has seen a bump in popularity from news and current events that started during the election season in Q4. Brands are now wrestling with how to present themselves in a chaotic news cycle that touches on emotionally charged topics like immigration, tariffs, and geopolitical events that will undoubtedly impact every industry and our way of life. What’s the safe bet? Live sports and streaming TV. While the industry is grappling with how to interpret the influence of AI on brand building and marketing and trying to sift between hype and true innovation, one thing that is not up for debate is this: Live events are drawing massive audiences across all platforms. And these platforms (Amazon and YouTube TV with NFL, Apple TV+ with MLS, Netflix with WWE) are investing heavily to capitalize.”