Beyond the Ad Pod: Where CTV Advertising Will Go in 2026

As CTV changes how people consume content beyond the big screen, AI is simultaneously changing the way advertisers design, plan, activate and measure campaigns. Together, these two changes mean advertisers should be thinking about 2026 as a time to reinvent the way they reach audiences.

Two trends in particular will see massive growth in 2026:

• AI-driven multichannel campaigns: To embrace the true multi-channel nature of today’s viewer behavior, brands will plan campaigns that are interconnected across channels and platforms. Highly orchestrated campaigns will feature unique but related creative formats that span social, apps, video and display and will take advantage of the way audiences actually consume media across screens and on new surfaces where consumer attention is high and ad load is low.
• New Beyond the Pod TV formats: Viewers are using all of their screens to watch TV, and they’re more interactive and leaned in. To complement ads in the pod but also reach viewers where they are present and actually leaned in, advertisers will expand their reach to opportunities like pause ads, in-content placements and Smart TV Home Screen placements.

Rather than be limited by traditional linear TV advertising standards, streaming opens the door for a completely new approach that finds audiences across screens and platforms, and captures attention with dynamic, interactive, high-impact experiences.

Multichannel Supported by AI in 2026

Brands have long planned multichannel advertising campaigns, but often in a timeline format that was connected to an imagined purchase journey. Consider the typical concept of someone seeing a commercial on TV (brand awareness), next clicking on a display ad on digital (brand consideration) and finally clicking on a search link or Amazon result to purchase the product (conversion). 

Today, this behavior pattern has completely collapsed. Multitasking on multiple screens has become core to the media experience in the US where 83% of the population use their smartphones while watching TV. At the same time, audiences are used to interacting with ads on social media where they discover and purchase products all in one place. And of course, many people stream content right on their phones, switching back and forth across apps at their convenience.

Brands are using AI to create media strategies that are more closely aligned to this complex reality of consumer behavior, where millions of people want to discover, learn and purchase all in real time - across different platforms and channels - including new surfaces that traditionally did not have advertising. Bringing the accessibility of digital to the big screen is a game changer for brands in this situation. They are able to target specific audiences, create dynamic product ads, offer a QR code that connects to an app or store page, and even deliver interactivity on the TV.

These advances bring a more consequential shift: insight, not just inventory. As AI becomes embedded across the advertising workflow, data moves from a post-campaign diagnostic to an active input at every single stage. Creative can adapt to context and audience, targeting becomes more precise without sacrificing scale, and CTV begins to operate like a true digital channel that's measured for outcomes, not proxies. The result is a more connected system, where performance is understood across screens rather than inferred in isolation.

New Opportunities to Engage Audiences on the Big Screen

Brands are keen to stay relevant as audiences shift their media behavior. Millions of people have moved from linear TV to streaming, where they can watch what they want, when they want it. They’re in control and want a relevant, personalized experience. 

Audiences are being trained by social media that they can get relevance and personalization while tuning out content and advertising that doesn’t interest them, makingit more important than ever for advertisers to reach audiences where they pay attention, with messaging that resonates. 

Streaming and CTV offer many exciting innovations that help brands break through in ways that complement traditional commercials. Placements like pause ads and Glass ads deliver high-attention opportunities while people are in a discovery mindset. Contextually targeted ads increase relevance and in-content ads increase brand metrics and audience reach.

By 2026, the biggest mistake advertisers can make in CTV is treating streaming like a digital version of linear TV. Viewer behavior now extends well beyond the ad pod, creating high-attention moments that exist before content even begins. LG found that viewers spend an average of nine minutes on the home screen before selecting content to watch, a window of influence that traditional planning models ignore. As a result, media strategies will become less about buying placements and more about understanding behavior, using those moments to guide where brands show up and why. 

The Evolving Role of TV

In 2026, TV, and specifically CTV, will no longer be treated as a channel that stops at awareness. While GRPs, reach, and SOV will still matter, advertisers will increasingly expect TV to connect to engagement, influence, and measurable business outcomes.

In a world that has become more on-demand, data-driven and interactive, advertisers with AI-driven multichannel strategies that embrace new formats have the opportunity to find those key moments that resonate with their audiences and build on them.

We’re entering uncharted territory in advertising, and brands that embrace innovation and test new opportunities will have the most success with audiences that are already way ahead. 

[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Kargo. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]