Key Points
- A Premion survey found 32 percent of advertising decision-makers plan to spend money on political campaigns over the next six to 12 months.
- More than half of political advertisers surveyed cited spending efficiency, audience targeting and measurement as leading reasons to invest in streaming TV.
- Reaching voters beyond traditional television was a priority for 47 percent of respondents planning political campaigns.
Political advertisers are turning to streaming television to improve voter targeting, control campaign spending and measure advertising performance, according to new research commissioned by TEGNA-owned Premion.
The survey, conducted by Advertiser Perceptions, found 32 percent of advertising decision-makers expect to allocate money toward political campaigns over the next six to 12 months. Agencies were more likely to anticipate political advertising spending than marketers, with 36 percent of agency respondents planning investments compared to 25 percent of marketers.
Among respondents planning political campaigns, 53 percent identified spending efficiency as a primary reason to invest in streaming and connected television (CTV), while an equal percentage prioritized audience targeting, measurement and accountability. Reaching voters who are difficult to engage through traditional television was cited by 47 percent, followed by access to trusted local programming at 38 percent and extending linear television campaigns at 36 percent.
Measurement capabilities were another priority, with 52 percent of respondents seeking to identify audiences reached through streaming beyond traditional television. Another 51 percent prioritized tracking voter engagement and actions, while 48 percent cited data integration, audience verification, cross-publisher tracking and transparent reporting.
The research also identified obstacles to political advertising on streaming platforms. Understanding audience quality and reaching local voters at sufficient scale were each cited by 54 percent of respondents, followed by cross-platform measurement challenges at 51 percent and advertising costs at 48 percent.
Advertiser Perceptions surveyed 302 U.S. advertising decision-makers between August 3 and August 11, 2026. The political streaming findings were drawn from 95 respondents who expected to allocate advertising budgets to political campaigns within the following six to 12 months.
