Advertising dollars are shifting firmly toward streaming, and for good reason. Marketing Dive reports that during this year’s upfront season, prime-time ad sales for traditional linear TV declined, while streaming platforms posted strong gains. The data comes from a new study by Media Dynamics.
Streaming Pulls Ahead in Ad Revenue
Media Dynamics estimates prime-time ad revenue on linear TV dropped from $18.4 billion last year to $17.8 billion in 2025. During the same period, streaming saw earnings rise nearly 18 percent to $13.2 billion.
Advertisers Leverage FAST and More Inventory
The surge in streaming ad revenue is driven in part by the expanding supply of ad space, especially from free ad-supported streaming services (FASTs). With more inventory available, cost efficiency has improved. The average cost per thousand ad impressions (CPM) on streaming dropped to $27.25, a 7.6 percent reduction year over year. Prime-time broadcast and cable CPMs also fell, to $43.50 and $19.35 respectively.
Linear TV Still Holds a Base
Despite streaming growth, linear prime-time remains substantial. Retail broadcast networks earned $9.1 billion (down 2.5 percent), while cable brought in $8.7 billion (down 4.3 percent). Major networks offset declines by selling sports packages with prime-time attributes. NBC, for example, has deals for the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl, and NBA, while Fox tapped into demand for World Cup coverage.
Streaming Platforms Build Their Case for Upfront Deals
Streaming services are continuing to court advertisers during upfronts. Netflix, for instance, doubled its ad commitments in this year’s cycle across key sectors like retail, CPG, telecom, and technology. The service’s high-profile content launches, including WWE Raw and NFL games on Christmas Day, were highlighted as major attracts for campaigns.
What This Means for Advertisers
Streaming’s rise underscores viewer control and fragmentation of media habits. Advertisers are following where attention goes with data-driven strategies. More budget movement toward streaming is expected as marketers chase better performance and flexibility, especially amid ongoing shifts in viewer behavior.
