Samsung Ads State of CTV 2026 [PDF]

State of CTV 2026Y our need to know around changing consumer behaviors and what it means for advertising The need to know: The state of streaming •Three-quarters of all streaming minutes are ad-supported and 85% of Samsung households use at least one ad-supported streaming app •While all viewers now stream, nearly all linear viewing is concentrated among the 22% of all TVs that are the heaviest linear viewers The state of ghost viewing •Subscription streaming is an ongoing content-seeking quest - viewers ghost any app that doesn’t fulfill that quest •Even the largest apps are ghosted by half as many users as are active in a given quarter The state of smart TV ads •The home screen provides ease of use and valuable recommendations •Ads on FAST are as relevant as those on Subscription Streaming and less disruptive to the viewing experience •FAST drives greater attention to ads than subscription streaming apps and vMVPDs 2State of CTV 3 The state of streaming 4State of Streaming The need to know: The proportion of all viewing that was streamed continued its growth through 2025 into Q1 of 2026 While all viewers now stream, nearly all linear viewing is concentrated among the 22% of all TVs that are the heaviest linear viewers Three-quarters of all streaming minutes are ad-supported and 85% of Samsung households use at least one ad-supported streaming app. Ad-free streaming has declined 57% since Q1 2023 Streaming time reached a new high in Q1 As we start 2026, streaming continues its resurgent growth in proportion of viewing time 5State of Streaming Streaming time Linear time Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – active TVs in the quarter. Streaming is viewership in Smart Hub TV Apps including Samsung TV Plus; Linear is viewership of matched Linear ACR Content. T otal TV time refers to time spent with either Streaming or Linear content. 73% 74% 75% 76% 77% 27% 26% 25% 24% 23% Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 Q4 2025 Q1 2026 6State of Streaming The heaviest linear viewers consume 97% of all linear TV minutes While all viewers stream, nearly all linear viewing is done by just 22% of viewers Lightest Linear Viewers 22% Medium Linear Viewers 22% Heaviest Linear Viewers 22% Streaming Only Viewers 35% Viewing segments as % of the total audience 97% 3% <1% % of all streaming % of all linear viewing 13% 23% 33% 31% The use of ad-supported apps grew significantly in Q1 Ad-supported streaming is the norm for the large majority of Samsung HHs 7State of Streaming Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – Includes Active TVs in the quarter. Streaming is viewership in Smart Hub with a minimum of 1 minute of consecutive app viewership. Ad-supported includes both free and paid apps and Samsung TV Plus. 80% 79% 80% 82% 85% Q1 2025 Q2 2025 Q3 2025 Q4 2025 Q1 2026 Ad-Free Streaming Ad-Supported Streaming All Streaming Q1 2026 Q1 2025 Streaming time continues to shift to ad-supported Streaming time by app type Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – Includes Active TVs in the quarter. Streaming is viewership in Smart Hub (including Samsung TV Plus) with a minimum of 1 minute of consecutive app viewership. A VOD includes all ad-supported streaming minutes and SVOD includes all ad-free streaming minutes inclusive of hybrid apps that offer both ad-supported and ad-free tiers. 8State of Streaming +5% +18% -26% Over the past 5 years, streaming time has shifted dramatically to an ad-supported model 9State of Streaming Q1 22 Q1 23 Q1 24 Q1 25 Q1 26 Ad-Supported Streaming Ad-Free Streaming 49% 51% 62% 38% 62% 38% 66% 34% 78% 22% Ad-Free streaming declined by 57% between 2022 and 2026 Ad-supported streaming is more “and” than “or” Source: ARF DASH, Full Y ear 2025 10State of Streaming •64% of subscription streamers also use FAST •75% of FAST viewers also use subscription apps To t a l Ad-Supported Streaming 114M HHs 24M 39M 14M 19M 8M 4M 5M vMVPD 37M HHs FAST 77M HHs Subscription 90M HHs Subscription + FAST 58M HHs Audience intelligence: Ghost viewers 11 12Ghost Viewers According to Antenna, 89% of new streaming subscriptions are negated by churn Ghost Users: Users of a streaming app who are: Active in the past 12 months AND Become inactive for 4 or more consecutive months during that time Source: Antenna State of Subscriptions: Premium SVOD 2025 Y ear in Review Even the largest apps are ghosted by half as many users as are active in a given quarter App users from the past 12 months with an inactive period of 4 or more consecutive months 13Ghost Viewers Ghost Viewership Ghost viewers from the last 12 months To t a l a c t i ve u s e r s for the current period ÷ 50% 54% 74% 83% 119% 117% Q4 2025 Q1 2026 Tier 1Tier 2Tier 3 Subscription streaming is an ongoing content-seeking quest viewers ghost any app that doesn’t fulfill that quest Ghost viewership ranges from 50% for the most popular apps to more than 100% of long-tail apps, where more viewers trial and ghost than become regular users Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – active TVs in the time period Live sports are not solving streamers’ ghosting challenges NFL-influenced audience behavior 14Ghost Viewers Viewers Hours per Viewer per Month +27% +60% July – August 2025 Sept-Dec 2025 -34% -63% Sept-Dec 2025 March 2026 During the NFL season, streamers that broadcast games increase reach and time spent per viewer Viewers Hours per Viewer per Month But audience and engagement gains don’t persist in the month after the Super Bowl Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – active TVs in the time period NFL season viewers ghosted the big 3 NFL streaming apps at twice their standard ghosting rate 66% New Users (During NFL Season) Existing Users (Pre-NFL Season) 15Ghost Viewers 35% Ghost viewership among 3 apps that stream live NFL games Source: Samsung Proprietary ACR – active TVs in the time period Smart TV advertising 16 Nobody just watches TV Internet Video Self-Improvement Gaming Social Media Smart Home Control 17Smart TV Advertising The smart TV home screen is a gateway to much more than just watching TV The Samsung home screen provides ease of use and valuable recommendations Source: Samsung Ads proprietary survey of 1,000 US Smart or Connected TV owners 18Smart TV Advertising 63% 32% The Samsung smart TV home screen is easy to use Somewhat Easy Very Easy 40% 41% Home screen recommendations are helpful Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful 19Smart TV Advertising With ad-supported streaming penetration at 82%, FAST usage has grown as well 45% 25% 45% 37% Ads are relevant to me Ads are disruptive Ads on FAST are as relevant as those on subscription streaming and less disruptive to the viewing experience 20 Ad attitudes by content type Subscription streaming serviceFASTs Smart TV AdvertisingSource: Samsung Ads proprietary survey of 1,000 US Smart or Connected TV owners Attention to ads on FAST is greater than: +3% Subscription streaming apps +7% Virtual MVPDs Source: TVision Insights, Q4 2025 21Smart TV Advertising 22 Why Samsung Ads Median Age: 51 48%/52% M/F Median HHI: $106.5K Presence of children: 24% 22% Non-White /Hispanic Samsung by the numbers 23About Samsung Ads 62MHHs 80MActive TVs The Samsung Smart TV HHs #1 Smart TV manufacturer for 20 years 36% Of ‘most-used’ smart TV sets 97M+Americans reached in TV Plus households More attention than: •Subscription streaming •Other FASTs •vMVPDs Loyal audience 92% of TV Plus adopters continue to watch after 3 months Sources: March 2025 Cord Evolution MRI-Simmons USA Study Proprietary Research: Samsung Smart TV Audience n=33,176; ARF DASH, Full Y ear 2025; Samsung Proprietary Data; TVision Insights custom analysis, Q4 2025 Samsung reaches more US households with ads than almost every other streaming platformAd-Supported Reach (in millions of HHs) Source: ARF DASH, Full Y ear 2025, US. Roku is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the projection is based on the number of HHs that have a Roku device attached to any of the TVs in the HH. Roku TV is the standalone Smart TV with Roku OS built in. Roku Channel is the FAST service across Roku devices and Roku TV. Amazon Fire is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the projection is based on the number of HHs that have a Fire TV device attached to it. Amazon Fire TV is the standalone Smart TV with the Fire TV OS built in. 24Competitive AVO D s FASTs OEMs CMDs 2.6 3.6 5.0 10.0 11.5 12.8 16.9 17.7 18.3 18.8 21.3 21.6 24.1 25.3 26.1 26.8 30.4 31.6 46.0 50.7 Chromecast Amazon Fire TV Apple TV Max Roku TV Fire TV Freevee Paramount+ Disney+ Roku Vizio Peacock Pluto TV LG Roku Channel Netflix Hulu Tubi Samsung Prime Samsung’s scale vs the competition To t al S mar t T Vs ( in mil l io n s) Source: ARF DASH, Full Y ear 2025, US. Roku is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the projection is based on the number of Smart TVs that have a Roku device attached. Roku TV is the standalone Smart TV with Roku OS built in. Fire TV is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the projection is based on the number of Smart TVs that have a Fire TV device attached to it. Amazon Fire TV is the standalone Smart TV with the Fire TV OS built in. 25Competitive TV Connected Media Device 3.0 3.7 4.3 4.5 5.3 5.5 7.4 10.3 14.6 14.7 15.9 21.4 29.0 31.9 33.2 69.2 Sharp Chromecast Other Amazon Fire TV ONN Insignia AppleTV Hisense Sony TCL Roku TV FireTV Vizio Roku LG Samsung Many homes have multiple TV sets – Samsung TVs are the most-watched sets in more than 1 in 3 smart TV households 26Streaming Divide Share of primary smart TVs in the U.S. Connected Media Device` TV Other 36% 13% 16% 11% 9% 8% 6% 5% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 6% 2% 19% 11% Source: ARF DASH, Full Year 2025, US. Roku is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the share is based on the number of Primary Smart TVs that have a Roku device attached. Roku TV is the standalone Smart TV with Roku OS built in. Fire TV is the connected media device (sticks and pucks) and the share is based on the number of Smart TVs that have a Fire TV device attached to it. Amazon Fire TV is the standalone Smart TV with the Fire TV OS built in. 27 Thank you