Report: Local CTV reshaping US ad market
March 26, 2026
AdImpact, an advertising intelligence and analytics firm, has released its inaugural local CTV ad trends report.
The report analysed over 51,1000 local CTV advertisers across 210 US television markets throughout 2025.
Market Impressions
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Markets outside of the top 50 delivered a 52.5 per cent share of local CTV impressions, while accounting for 33 per cent of the US TV population.
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Q4 delivered 29.6 per cent of local CTV impressions, the highest of any quarter, with October alone delivering 10.8 per cent.
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Q1 carried more spending share (26.5 per cent) than impression share (25.2 per cent) where buyers paid a premium to start the year.
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Q4 inverted that as impressions outpaced spend, which was 28.1 per cent of all spend in 2025, driving an estimated CPM decline of nearly 10 per cent versus Q1.
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Q3 is the efficiency sweet spot, as spend and impression shares converged at 22.5 per cent.
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Q2 was similarly balanced, as impressions were 22.7 per cent and spend was 23 per cent.
Categorical Breakdown
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Home held the #1 position in local CTV impressions across all markets throughout 2025. HVAC, appliances, roofing and home improvement are some of the advertisers that have committed to CTV as a core channel.
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Advocacy & Government appeared in the top five throughout 2025, reflecting early political spending building toward the 2026 midterm cycle.
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Automotive held the #2 position in markets 51-100 and markets 101+ for every single month of 2025. In the top 50, it fell to fifth, trailing Services, Health and Advocacy.
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Looking at just the top 50, Health & Pharmaceutical moved to #1 and #2 in the top 50 markets during October and November, consistent with year-end insurance and elective care planning cycles.
Don Norton, General Manager, Data Solutions at AdImpact, commented: “As we enter Q2 and the rest of the year, events like the World Cup and midterm elections will reshape local CTV inventory. As demand and costs increase, local advertisers will have to shift their tactics to account for more competition. By understanding how the market looked last year and which time periods delivered the most effective CPMs, advertisers can get ahead of the crunch and position themselves to maintain their market share.”