The New Prime Time: Why Small Businesses Are Moving to CTV Advertising

For decades, television advertising belonged largely to big brands with big budgets.

A small or midsize business could certainly advertise on television, but the economics often made it difficult.

Connected TV, or CTV, is changing that equation.

In 2026, the television advertising market reached a historical milestone when it accounted for 44.8% of all television viewing, according to Nielsen. Broadcast represented 20.1%, while cable accounted for 24.1%. Combined, broadcast and cable represented 44.2%, meaning streaming surpassed the two traditional television categories combined for the first time.

That does not mean CTV has overtaken all traditional television advertising, and that distinction matters. Traditional television still represents a substantial advertising market; however, the upfront crossover shows that advertisers are increasingly putting their television budgets where audiences are going.

For small and midsize businesses, that shift creates an opportunity that simply was not as accessible during the traditional television era.

The Audience Moved First

Advertising dollars are following a change that has already taken place in viewing behavior.

In May 2025, streaming reached a historic milestone when it accounted for 44.8% of all television viewing, according to Nielsen. Broadcast represented 20.1%, while cable accounted for 24.1%. Combined, broadcast and cable represented 44.2%, meaning streaming surpassed the two traditional television categories combined for the first time.

The familiar concept of prime time was built around a world in which viewers gathered around scheduled programming at a particular hour. Today, consumers increasingly decide what they want to watch, where they want to watch it, and when they want to begin.

Prime time hasn’t disappeared; it’s become personal.

Your customer may be watching a movie after dinner, streaming a series over the weekend, watching live sports through a streaming service, or turning on an ad-supported streaming channel in the afternoon. The television screen remains enormously valuable, but the way audiences arrive there has changed, and so has the way businesses can reach them.

Why CTV Changes the Equation for Small Businesses

Perhaps the most significant difference between traditional television and CTV is that businesses no longer have to think about television advertising solely in terms of broad reach.

CTV brings many of the targeting capabilities associated with digital advertising to the largest screen in the home. Depending on the platform, campaign, and available data, advertisers may define audiences using geography, demographics, interests, behaviors, and other relevant signals.

For a smaller business, that difference can be substantial. A home-services company serving a defined geographic area gains little from paying to reach households hundreds of miles away. Likewise, a regional healthcare organization, restaurant group, retailer, or professional-services firm may have a very specific customer profile.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important. In its 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy research, IAB found that targeting overtook content quality as the top criterion for TV and video investment, with small and midsize advertisers playing a particularly strong role in that shift.

Television Advertising Is Becoming More Flexible

CTV also changes how businesses can approach television budgets. Traditional television has historically involved scheduled placements, larger commitments, and less flexibility once campaigns were underway. By comparison, programmatic and self-service CTV options let advertisers start with more defined budgets and adjust campaigns as they learn what works.

This does not mean CTV is automatically inexpensive, nor does it mean every small business should immediately begin running television commercials. Instead, it means the barrier to entry has changed.

A growing business can approach television more like a digital advertising channel by defining an audience, setting a budget, launching the campaign, measuring the response, and adjusting based  on performance. For businesses that may never have considered television before, that represents a fundamentally different opportunity.

CTV Is Becoming a Performance Channel

The shift is not only about where an advertisement appears; it is also about what happens after someone sees it.

Traditional television was primarily an awareness medium. Advertisers purchased reach and frequency, then relied on broader measures to determine whether a campaign worked. Today, advertisers increasingly expect to understand what happened after exposure and how television contributed to the customer journey.

IAB projects that U.S. digital video advertising will exceed $80 billion in 2026, representing more than 60% of total TV and video advertising spending. The organization also points to CTV’s improving ability to deliver business outcomes as one factor supporting continued investment.

Depending on the campaign and measurement methodology, CTV exposure can increasingly be connected to signals such as website activity, conversions, QR-code engagement, geographic response, search behavior, and other measurable business outcomes.

Measurement is not perfect, and CTV remains fragmented across platforms, publishers, devices, and data environments. However, the direction is clear: television advertising is becoming more accountable, and for small businesses, where every advertising dollar matters, that development may be just as important as greater access to the television screen itself.

The Biggest Screen in the Home Meets Digital Strategy

CTV also offers something search, social, and display advertising can’t fully replicate: the impact of the television screen itself.

A television commercial fills the largest screen in the home, combining sight, sound, motion, and storytelling in an environment where the viewer has intentionally chosen to watch video. For a smaller company, that can create a level of brand presence that once seemed available primarily to national advertisers.

A local or regional business doesn’t necessarily need to look small just because its media budget is smaller. With strong creative, thoughtful audience selection, and disciplined geographic targeting, CTV can give a growing brand a polished television presence in the communities where it actually does business.

CTV Is Growing, and So Are Advertiser Expectations

EMARKETER’s latest forecast projects U.S. CTV advertising spending will reach approximately $36.95 billion in 2026, while IAB expects continued CTV growth as advertisers place greater emphasis on targeting, measurement, and business outcomes.

As investment grows, advertisers will also need to become more sophisticated in how they use the channel. Targeting, creative quality, frequency, measurement, and the customer experience all play a role in determining whether a campaign ultimately performs. Most importantly, businesses need to be ready for the attention their advertising creates.

Before You Buy the Ad, Follow the Customer Journey

Imagine that your CTV commercial works exactly as intended. Someone sees the advertisement, the message catches their attention, and they remember your business well enough to pick up their phone. From there, they may search for your company, visit your website, scan a QR code, read reviews, compare your offer, and decide whether they trust your business enough to take the next step.

This is where CTV becomes part of a much larger digital journey. A compelling commercial can generate interest, but if the website is slow, the message is confusing, the mobile experience is poor, or there is no clear conversion path, the advertising investment can be lost after the television impression has already done its job. This is why you should evaluate CTV ad readiness before the media investment begins.

Frequency deserves the same attention. Repetition can build awareness and improve recall, but excessive repetition can quickly create advertising fatigue. Effective CTV campaigns need enough exposure to be remembered without becoming the commercial viewers are tired of seeing.

Buying CTV inventory, therefore, is only one part of running an effective campaign. The business behind the advertisement also needs to be ready for the attention that advertisement creates.

Traditional Television Is Not Dead — the Market Is Evolving

There is no reason to declare traditional television dead. Broadcast and cable continue to command substantial audiences, particularly around live sports, news, and major events, while linear television remains an important part of ad-supported viewing.

The more interesting story is not that one form of television suddenly disappeared and another replaced it; rather, television itself is being redefined.

Audiences have more control over what they watch and when they watch it, advertising can be more precisely targeted, measurement expectations are increasing, and streaming platforms are carrying more premium and live content. At the same time, advertisers are learning to think about the television screen as part of a broader digital ecosystem rather than as a stand-alone awareness channel.

For the first time, CTV upfront spending has surpassed primetime linear upfront commitments, which makes this milestone far more than another industry statistic.

The New Prime Time

For small and midsize businesses, a national advertising budget is no longer required to appear on the biggest screen in your customers’ homes; instead, businesses need the right audience, strong creative, a sensible budget, and a digital experience that turns attention into action.

The new prime time is no longer defined by an 8:00 p.m. time slot or a particular television network, and it is no longer reserved for the biggest brands with the largest advertising budgets. For small and midsize businesses, CTV creates an opportunity to reach the right audiences on the biggest screen in the home, when those customers choose to watch.

The new prime time is whenever your customer starts streaming.