The New Age of Streaming TV Ads: How to Reach Cord-Cutters Effectively
The shift from cable subscriptions to streaming platforms has fundamentally changed how brands connect with audiences. As traditional TV viewership declines, streaming platforms have created a new frontier for advertisers seeking premium video placements without the premium network TV price tag.
For brand leaders and marketing teams hesitant to tackle streaming TV advertising, this shift represents both challenge and opportunity; a way to reach engaged viewers with the targeting precision of digital and the impact of full-screen video. So, how do you adapt your strategy to reach audiences who are no longer watching the old way?
In this article, we’ll talk about how to effectively reach cord-cutters with targeted, data-driven campaigns that feel less like interruptions and more like integrated content.
From the rise of ad-supported streaming to the power of programmatic placement, we’ll break down what’s changing, what’s working, and how smart brands are staying ahead of the curve.
Streaming TV ads combine the impact of full-screen video with the precision of digital targeting, reaching audiences traditional TV can no longer touch.
Cord-cutting is now the norm for over 55 million U.S. households, making streaming a non-negotiable channel for brands targeting modern consumers.
Platforms like Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, and Roku offer advanced targeting, real-time analytics, and creative flexibility, but each comes with distinct pros and limitations.
Best practices for streaming ads include format-specific creative, data-driven targeting, short but strategic messaging, and integrated multi-touch funnels.
Streaming campaigns offer measurable ROI, starting at budgets far lower than traditional TV buys, with completion rates and engagement often outperforming social video.
Partner with Good Kids to build smarter, platform-native streaming campaigns that capture attention and drive action — let's make your message unmissable.
What Are Streaming TV Ads?
Streaming TV advertising (also called Connected TV or OTT advertising) refers to video ads that run on streaming platforms viewed on internet-connected devices. Unlike traditional TV, these ads appear on services like Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV, Peacock, and other platforms where viewers access content through smart TVs, gaming consoles, streaming sticks, or mobile devices.
Streaming TV ads function much like traditional television commercials but with significant advantages:
They can be targeted to specific audience segments based on viewing habits, demographics, and interests
They're measurable with digital-style metrics (impressions, completion rates, etc.)
They're available at various price points, making TV-style advertising accessible to brands of all sizes
According to recent data, 88% of US households now have a connected TV device, and streaming accounts for approximately one in ten advertising dollars. This represents a major shift in how viewers consume content and how brands should allocate their media budgets.
Why Streaming Ads Matter Now: The Cord-Cutting Revolution
Since 2019, Connected TV ad spending has increased by approximately 400%, a staggering figure that reflects a fundamental transition in viewer behavior. This isn't just a trend; it's a structural change in how consumers engage with video content.
The pandemic accelerated this transition, but the momentum continues for several key reasons:
Viewers are actively migrating away from cable packages in favor of streaming subscriptions. According to eMarketer, over 55 million households have "cut the cord,” canceling traditional cable or satellite services in favor of streaming options. This number grows each quarter.
Streaming platforms have evolved from supplementary entertainment to primary content sources. With original programming, live sports, and exclusive releases now standard on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max, viewers no longer see streaming as an addition to cable; it's a replacement.
Younger audiences (18-34) in particular have made streaming their default viewing method. Many have never had a cable subscription at all. For brands targeting these demographics, streaming is no longer optional, it's essential.
What's most important from a brand perspective is understanding that cord-cutting has created a vast audience that can't be reached through traditional TV buys.
When we work with clients transitioning from traditional media to streaming, we focus on this critical point: your audience isn't just watching differently, they're now entirely unreachable through yesterday's media plan.
How Streaming TV Advertising Works: The Technical Basics
For marketing teams accustomed to social media or display advertising, the mechanics of streaming TV ads require some adjustment in thinking. Here's what you need to know about the structural differences:
Ad Formats on Streaming Platforms
Streaming platforms offer several distinct ad formats:
Pre-roll ads appear before content begins, similar to YouTube's pre-roll format but typically on larger screens. These have high visibility but may be skippable after a few seconds on some platforms.
Mid-roll ads function most like traditional TV commercials, appearing during natural breaks in content. These typically have the highest completion rates as viewers are already engaged in their program.
Pause ads appear when users pause their content. These are less intrusive but have lower engagement rates.
Home screen placements appear on platform browsing interfaces (like Roku's home screen). These function more like display ads than video commercials.
When building creative for streaming, we've found that understanding these placement contexts dramatically impacts performance. An ad designed for a skippable pre-roll needs a different approach than one designed for an unskippable mid-roll slot.
Buying Models for Streaming TV Ads
Streaming TV inventory is purchased through several methods:
Direct platform buys involve working directly with streaming services like Hulu or Peacock to purchase inventory. This typically requires larger minimum spends but offers premium placement.
Programmatic CTV uses demand-side platforms (DSPs) to purchase inventory across multiple streaming services. This offers broader reach and typically more flexible budget requirements.
Aggregators and networks like SpotX, Magnite, or The Trade Desk provide access to streaming inventory across multiple platforms through a single buying point.
For growth-stage brands, we often recommend starting with programmatic buys to test performance before committing to larger direct platform purchases. This allows for testing creative approaches at lower risk.
Why Streaming Advertising Outperforms Traditional TV
As audiences continue to shift from cable to connected devices, the advantages of streaming advertising become increasingly clear. It’s not just about where people are watching, it's about how brands can now engage them smarter, faster, and more effectively.
Here's why streaming is quickly outpacing traditional TV for advertisers who want real results:
Precise Audience Targeting
Unlike traditional TV, which relies on broad demographics and fixed time slots, streaming platforms use first-party data to target viewers based on behavior, interests, and intent. Advertisers can serve different creatives to different audiences, down to the household level, maximizing relevance and ROI.
This targeting precision is why we often see conversion rates 2-3x higher for streaming campaigns compared to traditional TV buys for our direct-response clients. The ability to eliminate waste and reach exactly who you want makes streaming particularly valuable for brands with clearly defined audience segments.
Cross-Device Retargeting
Streaming isn’t confined to the living room. Viewers watch across phones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs. With connected TV (CTV) and programmatic platforms, advertisers can retarget users across devices, starting with a streaming ad and following up with display, social, or mobile video to reinforce messaging.
Real-Time Analytics and Attribution
Traditional TV offers vague reach estimates. Streaming provides concrete metrics: impressions, completion rates, click-throughs, and more. Even better, advanced attribution models let you tie ad exposure to real business outcomes like site visits, purchases, or app installs.
Lower Wasted Spend
You’re not buying a time slot and hoping the right people are watching. With streaming, you pay to reach specific viewers, not programs. That means less wasted spend and more value per impression, especially for niche or regional campaigns.
Creative Flexibility and Interactivity
Streaming platforms allow for more dynamic ad formats, interactive units, sequential storytelling, even QR code integrations. These options increase engagement and allow brands to experiment with storytelling beyond the 30-second spot.
Cost Considerations and ROI Expectations
Perhaps the most common question we hear from clients considering streaming is about cost. While streaming doesn't match the rock-bottom CPMs of some digital platforms, it offers significantly more accessible price points compared to traditional TV:
Budget Ranges and Planning
Entry-level streaming campaigns can start around $10,000-$15,000 per month (plus creative production), making this channel accessible to growth-stage brands.
CPM rates typically range from $25-$40 for most streaming platforms, with premium placements or highly specific targeting commanding higher rates.
Regional targeting can further reduce necessary budgets, allowing brands to focus on key markets rather than paying for national reach.
From our experience launching streaming campaigns across categories, we typically see that budgets around 15-20% of what would be required for a comparable traditional TV buy can achieve similar reach within specific target audiences.
Platform Selection: Where to Place Your Streaming Ads
Choosing the right platforms for your streaming ad campaigns is just as important as the message itself. Each service offers a unique audience, inventory structure, and set of advertising capabilities.
Your budget, campaign objectives, and target demographic will all play a role in determining where your ads will be most effective. Here are five of the top streaming services to consider, along with their strengths and limitations.
1. Hulu
Hulu has long been a leader in ad-supported streaming, offering one of the most mature advertising ecosystems in the OTT space. It provides access to a broad, engaged user base, especially among millennials and Gen Z viewers who use Hulu as a cable replacement.
Its robust targeting options, demographics, interests, behaviors, and geo, make it ideal for advertisers who want to run data-driven campaigns. However, Hulu’s popularity also drives up competition for inventory, which can result in higher CPMs. Additionally, Hulu’s interface and placement limitations mean less creative flexibility compared to some other platforms.
2. Disney+
As a premium, family-friendly platform, Disney+ is a powerful option for brands looking to align with high-quality, trusted content. It offers a massive subscriber base, especially in the U.S., and has seen rapid adoption of its ad-supported plan.
The platform’s first-party data, drawn from across the Disney ecosystem, allows for sophisticated targeting capabilities.
However, Disney+ has strict content standards and creative requirements, and Junior Mode profiles remain ad-free, cutting off access to younger audiences. Limited support for certain devices, such as Roku, also restricts potential reach.
3. Netflix
Netflix’s ad-supported tier is one of the newest entrants into the space, but it has already scaled quickly. The platform offers high completion rates due to its non-skippable ad format and a premium viewing environment that ensures strong brand association. The key advantage here is attention — Netflix viewers are highly engaged.
On the downside, its ad product is still evolving. Creative flexibility and targeting capabilities remain somewhat limited, and minimum campaign spend is relatively high, making it a better fit for mid-to-large advertisers.
4. YouTube TV
YouTube TV offers the benefits of both live TV and digital targeting. With strong reach during live sports, news, and events, it’s ideal for brands looking to capture audiences in real time. The platform also benefits from Google’s powerful targeting and analytics capabilities.
However, inventory during high-demand events can get expensive, and the environment is more interruptive than immersive, meaning brand recall can vary depending on ad placement and frequency.
5. Roku
As a leading CTV operating system, Roku offers unmatched reach across devices and channels. It provides advertisers with access to The Roku Channel as well as inventory across thousands of apps within its ecosystem.
Its advanced data capabilities, tied to device usage and app engagement, allow for strong household-level targeting. However, the fragmented nature of Roku’s inventory can make campaign setup more complex, and creative approval processes can slow down speed to market.
Image Source: TechJuice
Case Study: How We Helped a DTC Brand Scale Beyond Social with Streaming
When a direct-to-consumer food brand came to us looking to expand beyond their Facebook and Instagram advertising, we developed a streaming strategy that allowed them to reach new audience segments while maintaining their distinctive brand voice.
The challenge was translating their quick, product-focused social ads into longer formats that would resonate on the big screen without losing the brand's irreverent tone. We developed a series of 15-second spots that maintained their signature style while adapting to streaming best practices:
Opening with bold brand identification in the first 3 seconds
Creating a visual hook that worked on both large and small screens
Developing a distinct sound strategy that enhanced brand recognition
Integrating response mechanisms appropriate for the viewing context
The campaign ran across programmatic CTV platforms with targeting focused on food enthusiasts and health-conscious millennials. The results demonstrated why streaming has become such a valuable channel:
98% average completion rate (compared to 15–20% for their social video)
32% increase in brand search activity during campaign periods
22% higher website traffic from new visitors
Cost per acquisition within 15% of their social campaigns despite higher CPMs
What made the difference was approaching streaming not just as "TV ads but cheaper," but as a distinct medium with its own creative requirements and viewing context.
Closing Thoughts - Why Streaming TV Ads are the Future
So, are streaming TV ads really the future of video advertising? Absolutely—and the future is already here. As viewers continue to shift away from traditional cable and toward connected, on-demand platforms, brands have an unprecedented opportunity to meet their audiences where they truly are.
But the value of streaming ads goes far beyond reach. What sets them apart is how intelligent, adaptable, and performance-driven they are. You can target precisely, measure everything in real-time, retarget across devices, and tailor creative for different viewer segments—all things linear TV simply can't offer.
Yet, taking full advantage of this new landscape requires more than just repurposing your 30-second spot. It demands smart strategy, platform-native creative, and an understanding of how to build full-funnel engagement across screens.
That’s where Good Kids comes in. We don’t just launch streaming ads, we build end-to-end campaigns designed for how people consume media today. We combine data-driven planning, creative that stands out (and fits in), and a deep understanding of digital behavior to help your brand stay ahead of the curve.
Whether you're new to streaming or looking to scale smarter, we’re your creative and strategic partner.
