The streaming and digital video landscape is one that traditional broadcast television station leaders cannot ignore, given the swift embrace of video-on-demand platforms, free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels and advertising-driven apps. Yet, the fight for more ad dollars from linear, over-the-air TV has never been more fierce.
A “new industry report” that’s more propaganda than insight-driven brings another cautious tale to broadcasters that Connected TV purveyors want your ad dollars.
The report takes the tone that while consumer behavior has rapidly evolved, advertising creative on connected TV has, unfortunately, largely stayed the same.
In fact, TripleLift finds, some 49% of Connected TV advertising “still relies on traditional placements, with most campaigns built around :15 and :30 video spots originally designed for linear TV.”
What, then, should advertisers be considering? Introducing TripleLift’s study, “The Architecture of Attention: Why Nonstandard CTV Is the New Standard for Impact.”
TripleLift argues that “despite the explosive growth of streaming, the ad formats on those platforms remain rooted in decades-old creative models.”
TripleLift CEO Dave Helmreich explain, “The industry promised the best of TV and digital. Instead, we recreated traditional commercials in a new pipe.”
But how so? There’s little in the way of answers, as his company attempts to play up “the gap between consumer behavior and advertising innovation,” which is widening quickly, Helmreich claims.
To be clear, streaming’s growth is for real. In May 2025, streaming surpassed cable and broadcast television for the first time in U.S. viewing share, according to Nielsen data. At the same time, TripleLift says, ad-supported streaming has rapidly become the dominant model for connected TV, accounting for 74.2% of overall TV viewing. Global advertising spend is expected to follow a similar trajectory, with Connected TV ad spending projected to surpass linear television by 2030, according to WARC.
TripleLift’s point? Connected TV enables the creation of entirely new types of advertising experiences.
Those “high-impact format” include pause ads, overlays, and native streaming units. And, TripleLift asserts, these formats “deliver dramatically stronger outcomes than standard video ads alone,” rattling off findings tied to brand recall and higher brand consideration, as well as purchase intent.
None of those gauges relate to actual ROI and a purchase of goods and services.
Meanwhile, TripleLift’s study finds that 67% of viewers believe “innovative CTV ads are more memorable than standard ones, while 77% describe pause ads as informative rather than disruptive.”
Enter TripleLift’s business proposition, which is to bring those ad solutions to life for a brand. Says Helmreich, “The goal is to move the industry beyond simply delivering impressions. Today’s ecosystem optimizes delivery. Our approach is to optimize impact … Streaming rebuilt television distribution. Now the industry must rebuild television advertising.”
Download the full “The Architecture of Attention: Why Nonstandard CTV Is the New Standard for Impact” report here.
