According to a study by Circana, TV is quickly evolving from being a one-way viewing experience to a two-way interaction between viewers and advertisers.
It’s becoming a major growth channel for companies and is delivering measurable ad results, outpacing both linear TV and short-form video. This growth is supported not just by changing viewer behavior and consumption habits, but also by consumer investments in home entertainment.
TV Becoming a Commerce-Enabled Growth Channel
Despite being an older advertising channel that’s been around for decades, TV is getting a second wind as a commerce-enabled growth channel for brands. Around 75% of U.S. households subscribe to an ad-supported streaming service, giving advertisers direct access to the living rooms of millions of American families.
This new evolution of TV as an advertising channel is also transforming how brands blend storytelling, discovery, and purchasing into one experience. In addition to the potential of TV as a growth channel for companies, it’s already delivering measurable results.
In fact, connected TV now drives 15% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) than linear TV and 21% higher than short-form video. This shows that TV is more than just a way to reach potential customers, but can also deliver actual results.
This is not only the TV itself being more interactive by letting you click a button on your remote or the screen to make a purchase, but also the interaction taking nearby the screen. For example, someone may see an ad or product on TV, and immediately search for it on their phone and buy it.
When many people watch TV, they’re also texting, shopping, or using social media at the same time. As a result, TV is also becoming more interactive because it’s an important part of this dual-screening or multi-screening behavior that many people exhibit today.
The Growth is Supported by Consumer Investments in TVs
This shift and growth are largely being supported by how consumers are investing in TV hardware itself. Amidst economic difficulties, people are searching for ways to upgrade their at-home viewing experiences with value in mind.
With inflation and rising costs across the board, and with the costs of going to see a movie with your family often reaching $100 or more, people are opting to upgrade their TV instead.
For example, people are generally more willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a brand-new TV that will entertain their family for hundreds of hours or more, rather than spend $100 or more for an hour or two of fun.
Younger Generations Are Changing the Market
This momentum for TV is expected to continue as younger generations, like Gen Z, take over the U.S. population and drive most of the retail growth. In fact, Gen Z itself is expected to drive 60% of retail sales growth by 2030.
While Gen Z and younger generations lead the charge for mobile shopping, and consume plenty of content on their mobile devices, they’re also reshaping the TV marketplace.
The major power that younger generations have in terms of retail growth should lead to growing demand for immersive and purchase-ready TVs that meet consumers wherever and however they watch.
Also, while younger generations often toggle screens when consuming media in general, this is especially true for live events. According to John Buffone, the VP and industry advisor for Media Entertainment at Circana, “the key viewership areas to pay attention to in 2026 and beyond will be sports, news, and programming ingest,”.
Bringing Ecommerce and Television Together
As TV continues to grow and mature as a growth channel, companies need to begin to bring television and ecommerce together. Gone are the days of treating things like TV production and ecommerce as two separate entities, as connected TV has the ability to seamlessly blend entertainment alongside commerce.
This may be through shoppable ads on TV through clickable overlays, pause ads, QR codes to direct consumers directly to a product, or second-screen experiences that encourage people to browse or shop items that are being shown during the show, movie, or commercial.
Unlike the ads on linear TV in the past, these modern-day interactive ads also provide greater insights and ROI-related details. For example, with interactive ads, you can track specific actions like clicks and/or QR code scans, which weren’t possible for traditional TV ads.
These ads also offer precise audience targeting, plenty of budget flexibility compared to linear TV ads, and very high engagement and reach.
While many still think a TV is a fairly passive tool for advertising, or that interactivity only goes as far as a “buy now” button on screen, the truth is that the potential for connected TV ads expands far wider than that, with QR codes, second-screen experiences, and more leading the way.
