Comscore launched The Score Report, a monthly measurement of how TV advertising exposure is distributed across broadcast, cable and streaming. Its first edition, covering August 2026, attributes 43.2% of measured ad-exposure time to broadcast, 34.5% to cable and 22.3% to streaming.
The findings give linear networks another data point to bring into advertising negotiations, although Comscore measures exposure time within a defined universe of in-home TV screens. The report doesn’t establish how many distinct viewers advertisers reach, how much inventory they can buy or what those exposures are worth.
Advertiser spending presents a different commercial picture. Media Dynamics estimates streaming captured $17.2 billion in 2026–27 primetime upfront commitments, surpassing broadcast and cable combined. Cable commitments declined 7.7%, while average CPMs fell 8.5%.
Cable networks still account for more than one-third of measured commercial exposure under Comscore’s methodology. Their declining upfront commitments and rates put greater pressure on sellers to demonstrate the value of that exposure.
Comscore Measures Advertising Exposure Time, Leaving Networks to Prove Reach and Results
The Score Report measures an entity’s share of total measurable TV ad-exposure time. Comscore calculates that share by dividing the entity’s measured advertising exposure by all advertising exposure captured within its reporting universe.
Audience size, time spent watching ad-supported programming and commercial load all influence the result.
A network with a heavier ad load can generate more exposure time without reaching additional viewers. A streaming service can generate substantial viewing while producing fewer commercial exposures because customers select ad-free plans or encounter fewer advertisements per hour.
Nielsen’s August Gauge estimated streaming accounted for 49.6% of total TV viewing. Nielsen’s separate Ad Supported Gauge put streaming at 48.2% of ad-supported TV viewing during the second quarter of 2026.
Each report measures a different activity. Nielsen’s overall Gauge tracks viewing time, while its Ad Supported Gauge measures viewing of programming that carries advertising. Comscore measures the time attributed to commercials within its reporting universe.
The figures also cover different reporting periods and methodologies, preventing a direct comparison of their percentages.
Comscore’s measure doesn’t establish unique reach, frequency, available inventory, advertising spending or campaign effectiveness. Its rankings reflect commercial exposure, which can increase through additional viewers, longer ad-supported viewing sessions or heavier advertising loads.
Advertisers seeking incremental reach or stronger campaign performance still need those additional measures to determine whether higher exposure justifies higher prices.
Comscore Credits Pay-TV Streaming Ads to Networks, Giving Linear a Broader Share of Measured Exposure
Comscore attributes commercials carried through virtual pay-TV distributors to the broadcast station or cable network supplying the programming.
An NBC commercial viewed through YouTube TV counts toward NBC’s broadcast exposure. The same commercial delivered through a traditional pay-TV subscription receives the same classification.
Consequently, linear’s combined 77.7% share includes advertising delivered over streaming pay-TV services. It doesn’t establish that viewers encountered those commercials exclusively through cable boxes, satellite receivers or antennas.
Comscore also limits the report to advertising exposure on in-home TV screens. It excludes advertising viewed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
A streaming service with substantial viewing on mobile devices can therefore have advertising exposure outside the report’s measurement universe.
Those methodological choices shape the comparisons advertisers can make. Comscore attributes exposure based on the originating programming, while a distribution-based analysis could categorize some of those same exposures differently.
The report also cannot establish which company received the associated advertising revenue. Programming attribution, distribution arrangements and advertising sales rights can belong to different companies.
For networks, the methodology provides a consistent view of commercial exposure attributed to their programming across traditional and virtual pay-TV distribution.
For streaming sellers, it limits what the 22.3% figure says about advertising delivered through internet-connected devices.
Streaming Captures $17.2 Billion in Primetime Upfront Commitments, Leaving Cable to Defend Falling Rates
Media Dynamics estimates the 2026–27 primetime upfront market reached approximately $33.8 billion, with streaming commitments increasing nearly 30% to $17.2 billion.
Broadcast and cable together secured approximately $16.6 billion. Broadcast commitments declined 5.3%, while cable fell 7.7%.
Advertisers also negotiated lower rates across all three categories.
Media Dynamics estimates average broadcast primetime CPMs declined 4.2% to $41.65, cable CPMs fell 8.5% to $17.70 and streaming CPMs decreased 4.9% to $25.90.
Streaming attracted substantially more primetime money even as its average advertising rates declined. Buyers increased their financial commitments to the category while securing lower unit prices.
The shift is documented in the 2026–27 upfront spending estimates, which also show linear networks retaining considerable spending outside primetime.
Media Dynamics estimates advertisers committed another $12 billion to linear programming across non-primetime dayparts, including daytime, early news, late-night and syndicated programming. Linear therefore retained the larger aggregate upfront business when those additional commitments were included.
Those spending estimates cover a broader selling period and a different market scope from Comscore’s August exposure data. They cannot be combined to calculate revenue per minute of measured exposure.
They do establish a separate trend in advertising demand and pricing.
Cable’s upfront commitments and average CPMs declined more sharply than broadcast’s, even though Comscore attributed 34.5% of measured TV ad exposure to cable programming.
Broadcast retains differentiated inventory through major live sports, news and programming that brings substantial audiences together at scheduled times. Those characteristics can support premium pricing when advertisers value the audience composition, programming environment or concentrated delivery.
Cable faces greater competition for advertising spending as buyers gain additional ways to reach comparable audiences through streaming.
Its commercial exposure share gives sellers a measure of volume. Its declining advertising rates reveal the difficulty of converting that volume into sustained pricing power.
Streaming’s Ad-Exposure Share Climbs 6.2 Points, Increasing Cable’s Competition for TV Budgets
Comscore estimates streaming’s share of measured TV ad exposure increased from 16.1% in August 2025 to 22.3% in August 2026, a gain of 6.2 percentage points.
The category also increased its share from 21.1% in June to 21.9% in July and 22.3% in August. Comscore attributes the recent gains largely to cable’s declining share.
Those figures describe how exposure is distributed within the measured universe. They don’t independently establish growth in absolute advertising minutes, advertising spending or unique audiences.
Changes in ad-supported viewing, commercial loads and audience distribution can all affect exposure share. The published rankings don’t isolate how much each factor contributed to streaming’s gains.
The direction nevertheless adds competitive pressure to cable’s advertising business.
Advertisers already have more streaming inventory available through free services, advertising-supported subscription tiers and CTV distribution. Their ability to compare pricing and audience delivery across more sellers increases the importance of measurable campaign results.
Cable networks can still provide substantial commercial exposure, but advertisers have more alternatives when negotiating its price.
YouTube Captures 44.4% of Streaming Ad Exposure, Pressuring Rivals to Demonstrate Sellable Reach
YouTube accounted for 44.4% of Comscore’s measured streaming ad-exposure time in August, followed by Tubi at 11.6% and Hulu at 8.5%.
Applying YouTube’s streaming share to streaming’s 22.3% share of total measured TV ad exposure produces approximately 9.9% of exposure across broadcast, cable and streaming combined.
That calculation reflects Comscore’s classifications and measurement universe. It excludes linear programming delivered through YouTube TV, which Comscore attributes to the originating networks.
Google benefits from an advertising-supported service that aggregates viewing across creators, publishers, entertainment and other programming. It can generate commercial exposure without requiring viewers to purchase a subscription or select an advertising-supported tier.
Its competitive position also extends into audiences traditionally valuable to linear networks. Nielsen found YouTube’s viewing among adults aged 50 and older increased 9% in August, strengthening Google’s ability to compete for network advertising budgets.
Tubi offers a similarly accessible free viewing model. Fox reported 110 million monthly active users and 35% year-over-year revenue growth during fiscal 2026, demonstrating that Tubi’s expanding audience is translating into a larger advertising business.
Subscription services operate under different advertising economics.
Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and other services divide viewing between advertising-supported and ad-free customers. Their ability to monetize viewing through advertising depends on paid-plan selection, commercial load, viewing activity and the inventory available to buyers.
An increase in subscriptions or viewing hours doesn’t necessarily translate into a comparable increase in advertising exposure.
Those services can compete through premium programming, audience composition, targeting and campaign performance, even when their share of exposure time is smaller.
Comscore’s rankings show how much measured commercial exposure each service accounts for. They don’t establish whether YouTube, Tubi or subscription services deliver the highest advertising revenue, strongest campaign outcomes or most efficient reach.
Comscore Expands Its Measurement Business, Giving Buyers Another Dataset to Test Advertising Prices
The Score Report also provides rankings across 210 local TV markets, distinguishing advertising exposure by station owner and programming publisher.
A Nexstar-owned ABC affiliate, for example, appears under Nexstar in the station-ownership view and under Disney ABC when Comscore groups exposure by programming publisher.
Those classifications allow station groups and network owners to examine how advertising exposure is distributed across their respective businesses.
Comscore also offers premium reporting beyond the public Score Report, including expanded rankings, historical trends and deeper market-level analysis.
The monthly report therefore serves a commercial purpose for Comscore alongside its measurement function. Public rankings can generate interest among advertisers, agencies and media sellers seeking more detailed information for planning and negotiations.
Nielsen already provides measures of overall TV viewing and ad-supported viewing. Comscore is introducing another metric into a market where measurement providers compete to make their data relevant to advertising decisions.
The Score Report doesn’t determine the relative value of an advertising impression. A higher exposure share can result from greater audience scale, longer viewing sessions or a heavier ad load, and those conditions can produce different outcomes for buyers.
Networks can use the rankings to support claims about the volume of advertising exposure their programming generates. Agencies still need to evaluate duplication, unique reach, audience composition, frequency and results.
The commercial influence of The Score Report will depend on whether its exposure estimates help buyers make better allocation decisions alongside those established measures.
The Streaming Wars Take
Comscore’s rankings introduce a potential incentive to prioritize advertising volume. Because commercial load contributes to measured exposure time, adding advertisements can improve an entity’s share without necessarily increasing unique reach or campaign effectiveness.
For cable networks already facing declining CPMs, expanding ad loads to generate additional exposure could increase sellable supply while reducing inventory scarcity and adding more interruptions for viewers.
Advertisers have an economic reason to separate additional commercial minutes from additional audience delivery. More exposures to households already reached can contribute less incremental value than impressions reaching consumers unavailable through existing buys.
Streaming sellers face a comparable calculation. YouTube’s large share of measured ad exposure gives Google substantial commercial scale, while subscription services must balance advertising revenue against the value customers place on lighter commercial loads and ad-free options.
The more consequential purchasing decision is how advertisers allocate money across these different forms of inventory. Reach, frequency, audience composition and campaign outcomes determine whether another dollar buys access to additional consumers or produces more exposures among people a campaign has already reached.
Comscore has given the market another measure of advertising volume. Cable’s declining upfront rates demonstrate that substantial exposure doesn’t automatically preserve pricing power.
Networks that want to defend their rates will need evidence that their inventory delivers incremental audience value and measurable results. A larger share of advertising exposure alone won’t settle that negotiation.
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