Is CTV’s political ‘tipping point’ finally here?

A recent AdImpact study projected that connected TV (CTV) would be the only channel to grow in U.S. political ad spend this year compared to the 2024 election cycle.

It suggests a “tipping point” could be coming soon, where some districts might see no broadcast spend at all, Greg Butcher, founder and president of Alamo Intelligence, said during a panel at the Reed Awards and Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, last week.

The event followed heated primaries across the U.S. in states like Georgia, Texas and more, signaling that the 2026 midterm election cycle is in full swing and that political operators are deep in strategizing.

CTV ad spending is projected to reach roughly $2.5 billion this cycle — more than double compared to the 2022 midterms. But while CTV is estimated to make significant gains this year, most political spending will still be rooted in tried-and-true linear TV, according to the AdImpact study.

That could be because CTV still faces structural barriers. To move the needle on CTV will take more data transparency, said Tyler Goldberg, director of political strategy at Assembly Global.

“The lack of verified competitive data is holding back the growth of digital in the political space,” Goldberg told The Current. “Making this information accessible and actionable would lead to better results for campaigns and agencies, as well as higher investment in CTV as a whole.”

“It’s the rare ‘win-win-win.’ It’s good for political advertisers who will be more informed in their placement decisions, good for vendors who will be receiving more buys and good for voters who will finally be able to see where a significant chunk of political spending is coming from.”

Still, CTV’s political moment is coming to fruition, despite potential headwinds. AdImpact projected broadcast political ad spend to dip slightly this year compared to 2024 due to CTV’s growth.

The channel is “hitting its stride in reach and persuasion,” Elisabeth Blossom, digital strategy manager at Sage Media Planning, told The Current. As such, it’s becoming part of many political strategies from the beginning, rather than being an afterthought, she added.

To that end, LG Ad Solutions presented a study at the Reed Conference — based on voters in one locale, Greenville, North Carolina — that showed that 44% of voters there stream only TV compared to 6% who watch only linear TV (49% watched both).

Eighty-six percent of respondents said they watch apps with ads, and 68% said they are free, ad-supported TV (FAST) users. Over half said they have cut the cord.

Cost is another reason campaigns are experimenting with more streaming.

“From a cost standpoint, CTV has democratized campaigns’ ability to get on TV,” Butcher said. “If you’re buying TV ads in Los Angeles, your message might cost a million dollars. The cost of CTV will never be a million dollars for a message in that same district.”

CTV campaigns are also increasingly tied to cross-device targeting. About 25% of CTV viewers use another device while watching, according to panelists, allowing campaigns to follow up with messaging on mobile or tablets.

Butcher said that digital is no longer just a tool to boost a broadcast buy.

“It’s a mass reach tool and ignoring it doesn’t just mean you’re being less effective,” Butcher told The Current. “It means you’re missing as many as half of the voters you need to reach in a campaign.”