Streaming ads drive 5x more net-new customers than linear

Performance marketers are increasingly hitting a ceiling on social ad efficiency, making the proof of streaming's incrementality critical for budget reallocation. The data confirms that streaming doesn't just replicate linear reach; it captures a distinct, younger demographic that is otherwise invisible to traditional TV buys. For the technology stack, this underscores a shift toward geo-based incrementality and multi-layer measurement over siloed, last-touch attribution. As more streaming inventory remains locked in direct-sold agreements rather than open programmatic markets, advertisers must prioritize orchestration across both linear and digital to avoid missing high-intent audiences. Watch for whether more streaming platforms adopt open IP pass-back standardizations to further automate this deterministic measurement.

The shift toward incrementality testing is rapidly becoming the industry standard as privacy regulations and signal loss degrade traditional tracking. According to a July 2025 TransUnion survey reported by Digital Applied, 52% of U.S. brand and agency marketers now utilize incrementality testing to calibrate their media spend, up from niche adoption only two years ago. In the retail media sector specifically, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that 71% of advertisers now rank incrementality as their primary key performance indicator (KPI). This transition is driven by a growing recognition that platform-reported ROAS often overstates actual performance by 20% to 60%, per AdBeacon research from July 2026.

To manage this complexity, the streaming infrastructure is increasingly integrating AI-driven planning tools. In July 2024, Tatari launched an AI-Enabled Planning Engine designed to automate media planning across convergent TV, utilizing seven years of historical performance data to predict outcomes like site visits and purchases. This mirrors a broader trend where companies like Disney are doubling down on ad-supported tiers to capture these performance-oriented budgets. Per Disney Advertising, movie titles accounted for 46% of time spent on Disney+ in 2024, providing a high-engagement environment for the ad-supported growth that now drives a significant portion of their streaming subscriber base.