Comprehensive data on how Connected TV and Over-The-Top advertising are transforming automotive marketing strategies, driving measurable ROI, and reshaping how dealerships connect with in-market buyers
Key Takeaways
- Massive ROI opportunity with minimal investment – OTT advertising delivers 30% higher ROI than other marketing channels, yet receives only 7% of typical automotive media budgets, creating a significant competitive advantage for early adopters
- Your customers are already there – 89% of vehicle owners and 90% of car buyers are ad-supported CTV/OTT viewers, making streaming platforms the primary hunting ground for in-market auto shoppers
- Unmatched engagement and completion rates – Automotive CTV ads achieve 97% completion rates, far exceeding desktop (84%) and mobile (86%) platforms, ensuring your message is seen and absorbed
- Omnichannel integration is essential – Cross-device strategies combining OTT with other channels deliver 200% higher conversions than CTV-only campaigns, proving that integrated approaches maximize impact
- Linear TV is rapidly declining – Automotive linear TV impressions fell 17.76% year-over-year while CTV/OTT spending grew 15.7%, signaling a fundamental shift in where auto brands should allocate their advertising dollars
Market Growth & Investment Trends
1. Automotive CTV/OTT ad spending reached $356.7 million in 2024, representing a 15.7% year-over-year increase. This substantial growth reflects automotive marketers’ recognition of streaming’s superior targeting capabilities and audience alignment. The investment surge validates CTV/OTT as a core channel rather than an experimental tactic for forward-thinking brands.
2. CTV/OTT spending in the automotive sector is projected to reach $391.6 million in 2025, growing to $412.8 million in 2026 with a 7.9% CAGR from 2024-2026. This sustained growth trajectory indicates long-term confidence in the channel’s performance metrics and audience reach. Automotive advertisers are shifting budgets from declining traditional channels to capitalize on streaming’s expanding footprint.
3. Connected TV advertising spending is expected to grow to $46.89 billion by 2028, representing a fundamental shift in video advertising consumption. The exponential growth reflects consumer adoption of streaming services and advertiser recognition of superior performance metrics. Automotive brands that establish early expertise in CTV/OTT will benefit from lower competition and pricing before market saturation.
4. Automakers spent an estimated $2.1 billion on linear television advertising from January to early December 2025, down 9.45% from 2024. This significant decline in traditional TV spending demonstrates the industry’s strategic pivot toward digital video platforms. The reallocation of billions in advertising dollars creates both opportunity and urgency for dealerships to adapt their media strategies.
Audience Reach & Streaming Adoption
5. Streaming reached 38.7% of total TV viewing in July 2023, surpassing combined broadcast (23.1%) and cable (29.6%) for the first time ever. This historic milestone confirms streaming as the dominant video consumption method, making CTV/OTT advertising essential for reaching mass audiences. Automotive brands advertising exclusively on traditional TV now miss the majority of viewers.
6. 89% of U.S. households have a video streaming subscription, creating unprecedented audience scale for CTV/OTT advertisers. The near-ubiquitous adoption of streaming services means CTV campaigns can reach audiences comparable to traditional television with superior targeting capabilities. This penetration level validates CTV/OTT as a mainstream advertising channel suitable for both brand awareness and performance campaigns.
7. 89% of people who own or lease a vehicle are ad-supported CTV/OTT viewers, demonstrating perfect audience alignment between automotive marketing and streaming platforms. This statistic confirms that CTV/OTT isn’t just reaching general audiences but specifically targeting vehicle owners—the exact demographic automotive brands need to influence. The audience overlap creates natural receptivity to automotive advertising messages.
8. 90% of those planning to purchase a car in the next 12 months are ad-supported CTV/OTT viewers, making streaming platforms the primary channel for reaching in-market auto shoppers. This high concentration of purchase-intent audiences enables automotive brands to efficiently target consumers actively researching vehicles. The timing alignment between advertising exposure and purchase consideration maximizes campaign effectiveness.
9. 19% of ad-supported CTV/OTT viewers like to get a new car every 2-3 years, indicating a substantial segment of frequent buyers within the streaming audience. This high-rotation buyer segment represents significant lifetime value for automotive brands that can establish brand loyalty and preference through consistent CTV/OTT messaging. The recurring purchase behavior justifies sustained investment in streaming advertising.
Performance Metrics & Effectiveness
10. CTV campaigns achieve 30% higher ROI than other marketing channels, delivering exceptional performance that justifies increased budget allocation. The superior ROI stems from high completion rates, precise targeting capabilities, and engaged audiences consuming content in distraction-free environments. This performance advantage becomes even more compelling when combined with Demand Local’s proprietary attribution reporting that ties spend directly to revenue.
11. 97% completion rates for automotive ads on CTV platforms ensure that nearly every viewer sees the complete advertising message. This exceptional completion rate far exceeds other digital channels and provides confidence that creative messaging and brand positioning are fully communicated. The high completion rate validates premium ad placements and justifies higher CPMs compared to interruptive or skippable formats.
12. Ad completion rates on OTT devices reach 98%, far surpassing desktop (84%) and mobile (86%). This performance gap demonstrates the superior engagement environment of connected TV, where viewers are focused on content consumption rather than multitasking. The consistent completion across OTT devices ensures message delivery regardless of the specific streaming platform or device used.
13. 61% of car shoppers report CTV ads influenced their purchase decision, demonstrating direct impact on the critical final stages of the buyer journey. This influence metric validates CTV/OTT as more than just a brand awareness channel, proving its effectiveness in driving actual purchase behavior. The significant influence percentage justifies CTV/OTT investment as a core component of performance marketing strategies.
14. 71% of car buyers notice automotive advertisements during their streaming viewing sessions, indicating high ad recall and brand recognition in the CTV environment. The noticeability factor reflects the non-intrusive but prominent placement of CTV ads within premium content streams. High noticeability combined with strong completion rates creates powerful brand impression metrics that support both immediate and long-term marketing objectives.
Budget Allocation & Market Dynamics
15. Despite superior performance, CTV currently receives only 7% of typical media budgets, creating a massive opportunity gap for automotive marketers. This underinvestment relative to performance metrics represents one of the largest inefficiencies in current automotive media allocation. Dealerships that reallocate budgets to reflect CTV/OTT’s actual performance can achieve significant competitive advantages in market share and cost efficiency.
16. Hyundai was the most-seen auto brand on streaming TV with an 11.6% impressions share of voice, demonstrating early leadership in CTV/OTT adoption among automotive manufacturers. Hyundai’s prominent streaming presence reflects strategic recognition of audience migration patterns and willingness to invest in emerging channels before competitors. The brand’s CTV leadership position likely contributes to market share gains and brand consideration metrics.
17. 64% of Innovid’s automotive video ad impressions in 2023 were CTV, an increase of 88% since 2019, showing accelerating adoption among automotive advertisers. This rapid growth trajectory indicates that CTV has moved beyond early adoption into mainstream implementation across the automotive sector. The increasing impression concentration on CTV platforms validates the channel’s effectiveness and audience reach.
18. NFL reached 70.69% share of auto intenders through automotive advertising, highlighting the continued importance of premium sports content for automotive marketing—even as consumption shifts to streaming platforms. The high reach among auto intenders demonstrates that content context remains crucial for automotive advertising effectiveness. Demand Local’s CTV & OTT solutions enable dealerships to target sports viewers with VIN-level precision.
19. The 30-second format accounts for 91% of CTV impressions, indicating strong advertiser preference for traditional TV-length creative in the streaming environment. This format preference reflects the premium nature of CTV advertising and advertiser confidence in audience engagement. The dominance of 30-second formats validates CTV as a brand-building medium capable of supporting complex messaging and storytelling.
Consumer Behavior & Digital Integration
20. 88% of car buyers use digital sources for vehicle research, creating natural alignment between CTV advertising exposure and subsequent digital research behavior. The high digital research percentage means CTV ads often serve as the initial touchpoint that drives subsequent online engagement with brand websites and inventory. This cross-channel journey validates integrated marketing strategies that combine CTV with digital retargeting.
21. 75% of auto shoppers report online video directly influenced their shopping or purchases, demonstrating the critical role of video content throughout the buyer journey. This influence extends beyond initial awareness to actual purchase decisions, validating video as both a top-funnel and bottom-funnel marketing tool. CTV/OTT advertising’s premium video format aligns perfectly with this consumer preference for video-based vehicle research.
22. 95% of vehicle buyers use digital sources during their shopping journey, creating multiple touchpoints for integrated marketing campaigns that combine CTV with other digital channels. The near-universal digital usage means CTV advertising can effectively drive traffic to digital properties where deeper engagement and conversion occur. This digital dependency validates omnichannel strategies that maintain consistent messaging across all touchpoints.
23. 41% of buyers use YouTube for research before purchasing, indicating strong preference for video-based research platforms that complement CTV advertising exposure. The significant YouTube usage demonstrates consumer comfort with video as a research medium and creates natural synergy between CTV brand awareness and YouTube consideration-phase content. Integrated campaigns can leverage CTV to drive YouTube search behavior and subsequent engagement.
24. 71% of consumers prefer personalized advertising experiences, creating demand for the precise targeting capabilities that CTV/OTT platforms enable when combined with first-party data. The strong preference for personalization validates investments in data integration and dynamic creative optimization. Demand Local’s Link1Data platform enables this personalization by ingesting CRM, DMS, and inventory feeds to enable real-time audience matching.
Geographic Targeting & Precision
25. 56% of global marketers plan to increase OTT/CTV spend in 2025, led by sectors like Automotive and Healthcare, indicating strong industry confidence in the channel’s future performance. The automotive sector’s leadership in CTV/OTT adoption reflects recognition of perfect audience alignment and superior performance metrics. This planned increase suggests the current 7% budget allocation will rise significantly in coming years.
26. Roku commands 37% of U.S. programmatic CTV ad inventory share, making it the dominant platform for CTV advertising and essential for comprehensive automotive campaigns. The significant market share means Roku targeting is necessary for achieving scale in CTV campaigns. Automotive advertisers must ensure their CTV strategies include robust Roku targeting to reach the largest possible streaming audience.
27. Over 50% of 18-49-year-olds watch sports on streaming platforms, creating significant opportunities for automotive brands to reach key demographics through premium sports content in the streaming environment. The high sports viewership among younger demographics validates CTV as an effective channel for reaching audiences that have abandoned traditional television. Automotive brands can leverage sports content to build emotional connections with younger buyers.
28. Programmatic buying will hit 75% of OTT inventory by 2027 (from 50% in 2024), indicating rapid automation and efficiency improvements in CTV/OTT advertising procurement. The increasing programmatic adoption will enable more precise targeting, better pricing transparency, and improved campaign optimization capabilities. Automotive advertisers should prioritize partners with strong programmatic CTV capabilities to benefit from these efficiency improvements.
Cross-Channel Integration & Advanced Tactics
29. Cross-device strategies deliver a 200% increase in conversions compared to CTV-only campaigns, proving that CTV/OTT works best as part of integrated omnichannel marketing strategies. The dramatic conversion lift demonstrates that CTV advertising creates powerful top-funnel awareness that other channels can effectively retarget and convert. This performance validates Demand Local’s approach of smarter omnichannel marketing that puts ads everywhere customers are.
30. A case study for Owl Labs showed that dynamic creative optimization produced a 77% lift in click-through rates, demonstrating the power of personalized, data-driven creative in CTV/OTT environments. The significant performance improvement validates investments in dynamic creative platforms that can automatically customize messaging based on audience segments. When combined with inventory data, this optimization can showcase specific vehicles to relevant audiences, as Demand Local’s inventory advertising solutions enable.
31. Interactive CTV advertising delivered an engagement rate that outperformed all other formats by at least 2.8x, confirming the superior performance of advanced CTV advertising capabilities. The consistent outperformance across multiple studies validates interactive CTV as a premium advertising format worthy of specialized investment. Automotive brands should prioritize CTV platforms that support interactive capabilities to maximize engagement and conversion potential.
Tier-Specific Spending Patterns
32. Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturers will spend $114.7 million on CTV/OTT in 2024, a 19.9% increase year-over-year, demonstrating strong manufacturer confidence in the channel’s effectiveness. The significant manufacturer investment validates CTV/OTT as a core channel for automotive marketing and creates co-op advertising opportunities for dealerships. The double-digit growth rate indicates manufacturers recognize CTV/OTT’s superior performance metrics and audience alignment.
33. Tier 2 Local Automobile Dealers Associations will spend $94.1 million on CTV/OTT in 2024, a 17.0% increase year-over-year, showing strong adoption at the regional association level. This investment pattern indicates that local market coordination through dealer associations is driving CTV/OTT adoption across multiple dealership locations. The substantial spending volume creates economies of scale that benefit individual dealerships participating in association campaigns.
34. Tier 3 New Car Dealers will spend $110.5 million on CTV/OTT in 2024, an 11.1% increase year-over-year, demonstrating growing direct dealership investment in streaming advertising. The significant individual dealer spending indicates recognition of CTV/OTT’s local targeting capabilities and performance metrics. This direct investment pattern validates CTV/OTT as essential for individual dealership marketing strategies, not just manufacturer or association campaigns.
35. CTV/OTT represents 2.9% of total automotive advertising spending but shows top relative year-over-year share growth, indicating rapid adoption despite current small budget allocation. The leading growth rate among all automotive advertising channels validates CTV/OTT as the most dynamic and expanding media category. The small current share relative to performance metrics suggests massive reallocation opportunity in coming years.
Market Decline & Strategic Shifts
36. Automotive linear TV impressions generated 133.9 billion impressions, down 17.76% year-over-year, demonstrating the accelerating decline of traditional television advertising. The significant impression decline reflects both audience migration to streaming platforms and advertiser budget reallocation to more effective channels. This trend creates urgency for automotive brands still heavily invested in linear TV to develop comprehensive CTV/OTT strategies.
37. Automotive impressions were generated over 819,700 ad airings, down 17.02% year-over-year, confirming the broad-based decline across all traditional television advertising metrics. The consistent double-digit decline across multiple metrics validates the fundamental shift in automotive advertising from traditional to digital video platforms. Brands that fail to adapt to this audience migration risk significant market share erosion.
FAQs on OTT Advertising Impact for Auto Brands
Q: What is OTT advertising and why is it important for auto brands?
A: OTT (Over-The-Top) advertising delivers video ads through internet-connected devices like smart TVs, streaming sticks, and mobile apps, bypassing traditional cable and satellite providers. It’s crucial for auto brands because 89% of vehicle owners and 90% of car buyers are ad-supported CTV/OTT viewers, creating perfect audience alignment. With streaming now capturing 38.7% of total TV viewing, OTT advertising ensures your message reaches consumers where they actually spend their time. The platform delivers superior completion rates and engagement metrics compared to traditional channels.
Q: How do auto brands measure the effectiveness of their OTT advertising campaigns?
A: Auto brands measure OTT effectiveness through multiple metrics including 97% completion rates, 61% of car shoppers influenced by CTV ads, and 30% higher ROI than other marketing channels. These metrics demonstrate both engagement quality and business impact across the entire purchase funnel. Advanced attribution platforms provide sales match-back, cost-per-lead (CPL), and vehicle-detail-page (VDP) views that connect advertising exposure to actual dealership outcomes. This comprehensive measurement approach lets marketers tie spend directly to revenue rather than just reporting clicks or impressions.
Q: Can OTT advertising help with specific inventory challenges for car dealerships?
A: Absolutely. OTT advertising combined with first-party data can address inventory challenges through dynamic creative that showcases specific vehicles to relevant audiences. With 55% of car sales occurring within 5 miles of dealerships, hyper-local OTT targeting ensures advertising dollars reach nearby in-market shoppers who are most likely to visit. Advanced inventory marketing solutions can sync inventory nightly and automatically pull the right VIN, price, and imagery into live ads. This real-time approach ensures accuracy and reduces wasted impressions on sold vehicles.
Q: What role does first-party data play in advanced OTT targeting for automotive marketing?
A: First-party data is essential for precision OTT targeting in automotive marketing. CRM and DMS data can be piped directly into CTV platforms to build custom and look-alike audiences that outperform generic targeting by identifying high-value prospects. This data integration enables hyper-local targeting that aligns with the reality that 71% of car sales occur within 10 miles of dealerships. Advanced platforms can ingest first-party data to enable real-time audience matching and dynamic creative at scale, ensuring the right message reaches the right prospect.
Q: How does an automotive advertising agency integrate OTT into a broader omnichannel strategy?
A: Effective automotive agencies integrate OTT as the top-funnel awareness driver within comprehensive omnichannel strategies that coordinate messaging across all touchpoints. Since cross-device strategies deliver 200% higher conversions than CTV-only campaigns, agencies combine OTT with search, social, programmatic display, and DOOH to create seamless customer journeys from awareness to conversion. The approach connects data, media, and creative across all channels to drive measurable results. This integration ensures consistent messaging while leveraging each channel’s unique strengths to maximize overall campaign performance.
