Rethinking TV: Balancing Linear and Streaming for Long-Term Brand Growth
Too often, the conversation in our industry devolves into a familiar debate: Is linear TV still valuable, or has streaming taken over? One side points to linear as the gold standard for reach and cultural impact. The other claims streaming is the future, offering precision targeting and measurable performance that traditional channels can’t match.
But framing the choice as linear versus streaming misses the bigger picture. TV today is both. And more importantly, both forms of TV can drive outcomes across the full funnel, from awareness to intent to conversion.
If advertisers focus too narrowly on the bottom of the funnel and chase only immediate conversions, they risk starving the very demand that makes those conversions possible. TV in all its forms remains one of the few places where advertisers can both fill and move the funnel at the same time.
The full-funnel value of TV
Advertisers have long relied on linear TV for brand building. But streaming TV isn’t just a performance channel, and linear isn’t just about reach anymore. When these platforms work together, they provide a more complete and connected strategy.
Moreover, brands must remain nimble in their thinking regarding linear vs. streaming, given how quickly the landscape is shifting. Sports illustrate this perfectly. A single event today can play out across broadcast, cable, and streaming, either simultaneously or individually. Thursday Night Football on Amazon, NBA games shared across multiple partners, or the UFC’s exclusivity deal with Paramount—each example shows how the same content can reach audiences in different ways.
For advertisers, the real opportunity lies in recognizing that fans don’t distinguish between linear and streaming. They just want to see their favorite teams perform. Whether someone is tuning in on a broadcast channel or through a connected TV app, they’re bringing the same passion and attention to the screen. Those viewers aren’t neatly divided into top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel groups based on how they’re watching; they’re spread across every stage of the customer journey. That’s why linear and streaming work best when combined, meeting fans where they are and moving them forward together.
As audience habits diversify, advertisers need partners and systems that can connect every way viewers access TV, whether that’s through a traditional set-top box, a virtual interface, or an IP-based streaming bundle. The goal isn’t just to place ads in more screens, but to maintain a consistent, brand-safe experience across them. That level of connection (the ability to understand and serve audiences wherever they watch) has become the new measure of value in today’s marketplace.
That’s also why transparency is emerging as a defining expectation for TV buyers. From upfront planning to mid-flight optimization to post-campaign reporting, advertisers want visibility into what’s running, where it’s running, and how it’s performing. The future of TV buying will favor partners who can deliver that clarity across both managed and programmatic channels.
The evolving meaning of local
The rise of CTV has also blurred and expanded what “local” advertising means. In the past, local TV was about geography: a regional car dealer, a local restaurant, a credit union targeting viewers within driving distance. Today, streaming has created the perception that every brand can buy a cheap CPM and zero in on households with precision.
But the reality is more complicated. True local impact isn’t about cost. It’s about relevance and placing a brand message in front of the right audience in the right context, whether that’s a community bank advertising during a national NFL broadcast or a local business appearing in a targeted streaming segment.
The importance of a brand-specific strategy
The most important point here is that every brand needs to figure out what matters to that brand. That means starting not with channels or formats, but with business goals. Is the priority awareness? Driving loyalty? Reducing churn? Expanding into new markets? The answers are different for every brand, and so the strategy should be too.
Sometimes that means the plan won’t be the fastest. It won’t always be the cheapest. But when a consultative partner brings deep insight into their inventory, both linear and streaming, the result can be a plan tailored to the brand’s destination. And when that happens, the impact can be far more powerful than a one-size-fits-all buy. The key is to work with partners that can help declutter the TV landscape and find their audiences during marquee events, whether they’re televised locally or nationally.
TV’s strength is in the mix
The TV ecosystem is in flux. Streaming continues to grow, but linear retains its cultural weight and its unique reach. Sports are reshaping partnerships between broadcasters and platforms. Local is being redefined. And premium content providers are raising the bar for what advertising should look like.
What hasn’t changed is the need for balance. Advertisers who view linear and streaming as competing silos miss the opportunity to create a more holistic, full-funnel strategy. Both can build brands. Both can drive action. And together, they’re stronger than either one alone.
The real challenge—and the real opportunity—lies in building a TV strategy that’s true to your brand: one that reflects your priorities, speaks to your audiences, and meets your goals across the funnel. That’s where TV, in all its evolving forms, still shines. As the industry continues to converge around a unified view of the audience, transparency, connectivity, and collaboration will be what elevate the next era of TV.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from New York Interconnect. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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