Audiences and ad dollars are moving to streaming – media organizations are evolving to meet them there.

The evolution of TV has always followed the audience. From the rise of cable to the explosion of digital, media organizations have adapted, innovated, and reimagined how content is delivered and monetized. Today, that evolution continues at full speed, with streaming video becoming the default viewing experience for an increasing share of the population, and a growing slice of the media budget for advertisers.

But this transition comes with challenges: audience fragmentation, rising competition, shrinking cable subscriptions, and growing pressure to modernize technology. To stay competitive, media organizations must navigate these challenges while effectively serving both viewers and advertisers across platforms.

Audiences Are Shifting – FAST

According to Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends report, U.S. audiences across all generations are spending more of their entertainment time on streaming video, social media, gaming, and audio content, and less on traditional broadcast and cable television. And even though cable and satellite services remain relevant, subscriptions continue to decline. Three years ago, 63% of respondents had a cable or satellite subscription. That number is now just 49%.

Why do people keep their cable subscriptions? Live news (43%) and sports (41%) remain the biggest draws, but even those are starting to shift to streaming platforms. Gen Z and Millennials are especially quick to cut the cord, with nearly a quarter planning to cancel their subscriptions within the next year. And cost is a clear driver. Traditional TV subscribers report paying about $125 per month, almost double what the average streaming customer pays for four services.

Live-streaming TV services (like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV) offer an appealing alternative for some, especially younger viewers, but their growth has plateaued at around 40% of U.S. households.

Advertisers Are Following the Viewers

Ad dollars are moving to streaming, too, but not as quickly or as evenly as we might expect. Of the estimated $422 billion spent on U.S. advertising, just 12% goes to linear TV, and 8% goes to streaming TV. That’s $85 billion in combined TV ad spend.

For local streaming TV, the opportunity is even more pronounced. Digital video ads allow for precise geographic targeting, even down to the ZIP code, at a fraction of the cost of traditional broadcast ads. In fact, targeting a 30-mile radius can reduce CPMs by up to 91%. Yet surprisingly, 88% of local advertisers didn’t buy any digital video ads last year.

Clearly, there’s a gap between the promise of streaming for local advertisers and the reality of adoption. It’s a space ripe for innovation, and the time is now for traditional TV companies to invest in tools that will entice advertisers to capitalize on the potential of streaming and cross-platform advertising.

Fragmentation Is THE Big Challenge

More choice should mean more opportunity, but for media companies, it also means more fragmentation – of audiences, of ad budgets, and of viewing behavior.

TV was once the central hub of household entertainment. Now, media companies compete for just six hours a day of average entertainment time per person, split between TV, streaming, gaming, podcasts, and social video. At the same time, viewers are spending less money overall on content, with subscription fatigue driving cancellation and consolidation.

As major SVOD (subscription video on demand) players introduce ad-supported tiers, more consumers are exposed to ads again. Younger viewers in particular are embracing free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services – more than two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials say they use at least one.

That’s good news for advertisers, but it’s also increasing their expectations regarding performance, targeting, and efficiency, areas where social platforms and search still dominate. Many traditional media organizations are now playing catch-up when it comes to ad tech, automation, and addressability.

TV Companies Are Fighting Back – and Getting Creative

To meet viewers and advertisers where they are, many media organizations are turning to a mix of content strategy, technology, and collaboration:

• Shifting content to streaming platforms, including premium programming and live sports, to retain audiences and maximize monetization potential.
• Introducing lower-cost, ad-supported streaming tiers to boost reach and reduce churn.
• Bundling multiple services and offering subscription aggregation to simplify viewer access and offer advertisers consolidated reach.
• Investing in ad tech and AI, including dynamic ad insertion, campaign optimization, and cross-platform measurement.
• Working together to aggregate inventory and data to make buying easier and more efficient for advertisers.

One example of media companies working together is Comcast’s Universal Ads Platform, which brings together NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, AMC Networks, Fox Corp., A+E, Roku, and others into a unified ad marketplace. The goal is to offer advertisers simplified access to premium inventory across multiple services, a key step toward making streaming and cross-platform advertising scalable and efficient.

Why Ad Tech – and AI – Are the Future

As the media landscape evolves, the ad tech that powers it must also evolve. That includes:

• Smarter inventory and pricing tools, powered by AI, that can optimize proposals, pacing, and performance in real time.
• Automated workflows, again powered by AI, that connect planning, execution, and invoicing across digital and linear systems.
• Unified measurement and attribution to demonstrate value across channels and screens.
• Interoperable platforms that integrate easily with the tools advertisers and agencies already use.

For media organizations, the future will be defined by how well they can deliver cross-platform campaigns with speed, precision, and measurable results. That’s where advanced solutions, especially those developed by experienced broadcast technology providers, can be a game-changer.

What Comes Next

The story of TV has always been one of adaptation, and the current era is no different. Viewers are moving. Advertisers and their ad dollars are following. And media organizations are finding new ways to lead.

Success in the age of converged TV will depend on making smart investments in technology, adopting bold content strategies, and fostering collaboration across the entire ecosystem. Whether through new ad platforms, strategic alliances, or a renewed focus on delivering outcomes for advertisers, traditional TV companies can clearly see the path forward. But following that path requires a paradigm shift the likes of which the industry hasn’t seen since the advent of cable and pay-TV.

After all, what made TV powerful in the first place wasn’t just the screen; it was the stories, the reach, and the connection. Those strengths still matter. And with the right strategy and the technology to support it, media organizations will continue to deliver across platforms, screens, and generations.

WO Fusion is WideOrbit’s centralized ad sales and planning platform designed specifically to streamline cross-platform sales and campaign management. With broadcast TV and digital workspaces, WO Fusion can empower local TV sellers to build, manage, and optimize converged media plans more easily, and with better results.

Contact us to learn more.