Voters spend over 6 hours per day watching video content.
Campaigns are competing for attention when there are nearly unlimited options.
“Premium” streaming makes up 26% of time spent on the TV screen that is both ad-supported and available to political advertisers.
Historically, this inventory has been difficult for campaigns to buy efficiently. That changed in 2026, and campaigns need to take advantage of it to reach attentive voters.
What is “Premium” Streaming?
We define “premium” streaming as video content consumed across Disney (including ESPN and Hulu), Paramount, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Peacock.
Netflix and Amazon Prime are not available to political advertisers.
Streaming time spent:
YouTube: 38%
Premium: 26%
Long-Tail/FAST: 36%
What changed in 2026?
The ability to scale first-party targeted ads on premium apps and measure effectiveness.
This is not easy. It requires close supplier relationships, the ability to ingest log-level data, and the scale to make cycle-wide commitments.
But this development has added highly engaged premium supply to campaigns’ toolbox.
Why did this change in 2026?
Three reasons:
Targeting technology has improved
Streaming viewership has increased
Ad-supported subscriptions have increased
Technology
The ability to match voters to households with streaming subscriptions has improved since 2024. At Cross Screen Media, our data science team has focused heavily on identity and matching to improve match rates and targeted performance.
Streaming Viewership
Streaming surpassed Broadcast and Cable time spent on the big screen. More viewership creates more ad opportunities, even though streaming still carries fewer ad impressions than Broadcast and Cable.
Ad-Supported Subscriptions
Like everything else, streaming subscription costs have increased dramatically in recent years.
There is a price point where voters still want access to content but are willing to watch ads in exchange for lower costs. That shift has led to significant growth in ad-supported subscriptions.
More ads mean more impressions for campaigns.
Why should political advertisers care?
This inventory costs more. CPMs are higher.
Why should it still be part of every media plan that includes streaming?
Incremental Reach
In one statewide campaign sample, targeted premium inventory added 9% incremental reach on top of the existing streaming buy.
When every vote matters in a close election, that is meaningful lift.
Attention
According to a recent TVision report, premium streaming inventory is a win-win for campaigns.
It reaches more voters, and the voters it reaches pay closer attention.
What does this mean for political advertisers?
Premium streaming inventory is now scalable for targeted political advertising with the right tech stack
Higher CPMs can still outperform cheaper inventory when the audience is incremental and attentive
Political advertisers need to take a holistic approach to voter content and serve ads where voters are watching content