Performance TV is no longer an experiment—it’s now a top destination for advertising dollars. According to tvScientific’s 2026 State of Performance TV Report, the channel has captured 24% of total media spend, tying with social as the most effective advertising channel and surpassing traditional search and volatile digital platforms.

The report signals a major industry shift as marketers face rising pressure to capture attention, control costs, and demonstrate outcomes. Performance TV combines the reach of linear television with the accountability and measurable return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) marketers demand in a data-driven environment.

“Performance TV delivers the scale of television with the precision, transparency, accountability, and fully measurable ROAS marketers need to drive real business outcomes,” said Jason Fairchild, CEO and Co-Founder of tvScientific. “Marketers are no longer testing TV at the margins—they are putting it at the center of their media strategies.”

Key Findings From the 2026 Report

• 24% of total media budgets are now allocated to Performance TV, making it the top investment channel.

• Effectiveness matches social, significantly outpacing search advertising.

• Budgets are shifting away from YouTube, Meta, and TikTok.

• AI accelerates targeting, creative optimization, and experimentation, turning TV into an always-on testing platform.

• The channel delivers full-funnel value, driving both immediate sales and brand lift.

• Transparency expectations rise, with more than half of marketers citing clear measurement as critical.

• Adoption is broad: 77% of small and midsize businesses are running Performance TV campaigns.

These trends build on momentum from tvScientific’s 2025 report, which documented a 41% average increase in Performance TV budgets and early indications of marketers reallocating spend from social and search. This year, that trajectory has accelerated, establishing Performance TV as a leading channel for modern marketers.

From Awareness to Accountable Growth

Performance TV is evolving from a traditional awareness channel into a high-accountability platform powered by identity, automation, and measurable attribution. Marketers can now connect campaigns directly to results, supporting smarter budget allocation, creative optimization, and performance reporting.

“Performance TV is now foundational to modern marketing strategies,” Fairchild said. “It delivers the accountability marketers have always wanted from television with the scale and impact they still need.”

The 2026 State of Performance TV Report examines channel effectiveness, budget shifts, AI adoption, transparency expectations, and how this emerging channel is reshaping growth strategies across industries.

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