The back half of 2025 continued to see a shift in macroeconomic factors forcing consumers to adjust their behaviors, and marketers have responded. Here are several key takeaways we observed.

Economic pressure is reshaping TV investment toward essentials.
TV investments reflect a more defensive marketing posture as consumers face continued pressure from interest rates, affordability concerns, and uneven job momentum. Advertisers in essential and risk-mitigation categories leaned into linear and streaming, while discretionary sectors showed a clear pullback.

More impressions are not translating into more reach.
The data reveals a widespread efficiency problem. Despite an increase in impressions, 49% of major advertisers saw a decline in the number of households reached, which drove up frequency and created media waste.

Smarter execution is proving to be the competitive advantage.
Brands including Florida Power & Light Company, Investigation Discovery, Expedia, Kars4Kids, Fox Nation, and L.L. Bean expanded household reach while holding impressions flat or even reducing scale. Their performance exemplifies media efficiency.

The call to action is clear.
Without a strong media strategy, advertisers risk oversaturating the same households while leaving valuable audiences untouched. Samba helps brands diagnose media waste, uncover incremental reach opportunities, and optimize cross-platform TV delivery. Contact us to learn more.

Click on a specific vertical to learn how individual advertisers contribured to its changes.