What Advertisers Need to Know About YouTube and YouTube TV in 2025

Learn how advertisers can maximize reach & measurable performance across YouTube & YouTube TV including planning, buying, and attribution insights from Tatari.

YouTube TV delivers live television over the internet, offering viewers access to familiar broadcast and cable channels through a digital interface. For marketers, it bridges the gap between conventional television and modern advertising technology. This provides broad audience exposure alongside precise targeting tools and detailed metrics. This hybrid approach positions YouTube TV as a strategic asset for advertisers aiming to optimize campaign performance in today’s media landscape.

To indicate the impact of live programming, YouTube’s first exclusive NFL game broadcast on September 5, 2025 between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil drew 17.3 million global viewers across more than 230 countries, demonstrating how live sports on connected TV (CTV) can combine massive reach with measurable, performance‑driven impact.

As audiences gravitate toward on-demand and streaming options, advertisers face a crossroads: invest in digital-first channels or bridge the gap with linear vs streaming strategies. 

According to Google’s help documentation, YouTube TV drives measurable impact by influencing viewer perception and action. Brand Lift surveys on connected TV screens capture shifts in ad recall, awareness, and consideration by comparing exposed and control groups, offering advertisers clear insight into how campaigns shape viewer sentiment in a high‑engagement environment. Search Lift tracks changes in organic search behavior on YouTube and Google after ad exposure, revealing which creative or placements spark active interest and brand‑related searches. 

Together, these metrics demonstrate that YouTube TV is not only a powerful reach vehicle but also a catalyst for moving audiences from passive viewing to active engagement and intent. 

In recent years, YouTube TV emerged as a pivotal platform, both for YouTube TV advertising and connected TV targeting, programmatic CTV, and data-driven TV media buying with outcome-based ad measurement.

This article will explore the modern landscape, advertiser benefits, and how Tatari’s tools elevate campaigns across both digital and TV.

The Landscape Today: YouTube & YouTube TV by the Numbers

The way people watch video in 2025 is more fragmented (and measurable) than ever before. Streaming has officially overtaken both cable and broadcast in total U.S. viewing time, and YouTube, in all its forms, is at the center of that shift. For advertisers, this means you’re no longer choosing between “TV” and “digital”: you’re choosing how to combine their benefits for maximum impact.

YouTube dominates global video consumption, with billions of monthly active users engaging across mobile, desktop, and connected TVs. It’s an on-demand, creator-driven environment where users actively choose what to watch, be it quick 1+ minute “Shorts” on a lunch break, or 45-minute deep dives into niche topics. This “lean-in” behavior makes it perfect for highly-targeted, performance-focused campaigns.

YouTube TV, by contrast, is built for what is known as “lean-back viewing” which is long-form, live, and often shared with others in the household. Examples of this could be primetime sports programming, live news broadcasts, and award shows. It brings the scale and brand safety of linear TV into a streaming ecosystem, with the added benefit of digital targeting and outcome tracking. That makes it a natural fit for advertisers looking to merge the prestige of TV with the precision of programmatic buying.

Key Differences for Advertisers

Key Stats (2025)

• YouTube: Approximately 2.5 billion monthly active users worldwide; 253 million monthly active users in the US alone.

• YouTube TV: 9.4 million U.S. subscribers as of April 2025 (4th largest multichannel provider).

• Viewing share: YouTube holds 12.4% of total U.S. TV viewing time which is #1 among all media companies.

• CTV shift: In Q1 2025, YouTube ad spend on TV screens surpassed mobile for the first time (43% vs. 42%).

YouTube vs YouTube TV: Head-to-Head Overview

While both platforms share the YouTube brand and massive reach, YouTube and YouTube TV operate in fundamentally different advertising environments. Traditional YouTube is a global video-sharing platform, dominated by creator-driven, on-demand content across mobile, desktop, and connected TVs. Advertisers often use it for performance marketing and niche targeting such as product demos, how-to videos, and interest-based campaigns.

Conversely, YouTube TV is a subscription-based streaming service designed to replicate the linear TV experience, delivering live channels like ESPN, CNN, and NBC, plus DVR capabilities. Viewers tend to consume content in a “lean-back” mode, on large screens, often co-viewing with others, creating a premium, uninterrupted environment that’s ideal for brand storytelling and upper-funnel impact.

For advertisers, the distinction matters:

• Viewer intent differs (active discovery vs. passive co-viewing).

• Inventory types vary (short-form skippable ads vs. TV-style pods).

• Buying methods and targeting capabilities align with different objectives.

Understanding these differences helps you design linear vs streaming strategies that balance reach, engagement, and measurable outcomes.

When to Use Each Platform

Advertisers should use YouTube when:

• You need precise targeting based on interests, demographics, or search intent.

• Your goal is direct response such as site visits, online purchases, and lead generation.

• You want to reach people on-the-go via mobile and desktop plus Connected TV.

• You have short-form or product-focused creative that performs well in active environments that require scrolling.

• Youtube is good for efficiency and scaling plans

Advertisers should use YouTube TV when:

• You want TV-scale reach in premium, brand-safe environments like live sports, with guaranteed impressions or primetime news. 

• You’re targeting households who co-view programming rather than individuals..

• You need to extend a linear TV campaign with digital targeting.

• Your creative is designed to impact the top of the conversion funnel and benefits from settings which are uninterrupted and sets high attention.

Tatari Insights: Measuring Across YouTube & YouTube TV

Tatari bridges the gap between digital precision and TV-scale reach to provide advertisers with a single platform to plan, buy, and measure campaigns across both YouTube and YouTube TV.

Leveraging Tatari allows you to:

• Unify reporting to see household reach, frequency, and outcomes across both platforms.

• Optimize in real time with dynamic pacing, shifting budget between both the YouTube and YouTube TV platforms based on cost-per-outcome performance.

• Measure true incremental impact by leaning on Tatari’s Performance Metrics Tool for an attribution tools filter that segments existing customers or overlapping audiences to gauge what’s authentically new.
  
  Example: A DTC brand used Tatari’s convergent TV Solutions measurement to find that YouTube TV delivered 1.4x higher ROAS than traditional YouTube during live sports broadcasts. This led to this DTC brand reallocating 30% of spend to those dayparts within two weeks.

In May 2025, streaming accounted for 44.8% of total U.S. TV usage, surpassing the combined share of broadcast (20.1%) and cable (24.1%) for a combined 44.2%: the first time streaming eclipsed linear television (consisting of both broadcast and cable). Source: Nielsen’s The Gauge

Ad Spend Shifts: Mobile vs. TV Screens

Tatari Insights: Capitalizing on the Shift to CTV

Tatari’s Performance Metrics leans into results-based measurement, direct media buys, and CTV capabilities to assist brands looking for both reach and scalability.

• Dynamic budget reallocation between mobile and CTV to capture high-ROI placements.

• Outcome-based bidding ensures that shifting spend toward TV screens still delivers measurable, efficient results.

Example: A lifestyle brand used Tatari’s media buying approach and real-time pacing to double its CTV impressions in Q1 2025 without increasing total spend. This effectively lowered their cost-per-site-visit by 28%.

• In Q1 2025, YouTube ad spend on TV screens (CTV) surpassed mobile placements, 43% to 42%. This nearly doubled the share from a year earlier when CTV was only at 24%.

• Connected TV advertising is booming: CTV ad spend in the US is projected to reach $26.9 billion in 2026, continuing its double‑digit growth trend as streaming viewership expands and more platforms roll out ad‑supported options. This marks a near-10X increase from just $2.8 billion five years ago, underscoring CTV’s rapid shift into a primary advertising channel.

How YouTube TV Stacks Up Against Traditional TV

• Connected TV targeting & programmatic CTV: YouTube TV supports precise demographic, geographic, and behavioral targeting. Programmatic tools enable real-time bidding, optimizing campaigns dynamically across screens.

• Outcome-based ad measurement: Through attribution, conversion tracking, and analytics, advertisers get near-digital visibility into complete campaign performance, whether they’re optimizing for installs, sales, or brand lift.

Tatari-Powered Case Studies: Real Performance Wins

Tatari Insights: From Test to Scale

When you explore Tatari and their cross-platform attribution reveals exactly where and when to scale your YouTube TV campaigns.

• Geo-testing isolates YouTube’s incremental impact in select markets before nationwide rollout.

• Mid-flight optimizations allow budget shifts toward high-converting dayparts and content categories.

• Unified dashboards keep creative, budget, and performance data in one place.

Tru Earth: YouTube + TV = Lower CPA, More Sales

In one particular geo-test, Tatari orchestrated YouTube campaigns alongside TV. Results included:

• 12% lift in Amazon purchases

• 38% increase in website visitors

• 72% reduction in CPA over the campaign’s duration

Advertiser Takeaways & Next Steps

Action Items:

1. Rebalance ad budgets. Shift more toward streaming TV ads where CTV ad spend is now overtaking mobile.

2. Measure outcomes, not just reach. Adopt outcome-based ad measurement tools, like those Tatari offers, to quantify CPA, installs, ROAS, and long-term lift.

3. Unify planning and execution. Through programmatic CTV and Tatari’s platform, coordinate across linear vs streaming channels seamlessly.

4. Test and optimize. Use targeting innovations like UID 2.0, MMM, and incremental lift testing to continuously refine campaigns.

Integrating Tatari Into Your Workflow:

• Tap into Tatari’s AI-powered planning engine, launch cross-format campaigns, and ingest real-time attribution from partners like AppsFlyer.

• Explore Tatari’s measurement dashboards, creative heatmaps, and CPA reporting features for actionable performance insights.

• Don’t just buy TV; measure it. Tatari provides next-day ROAS, attribution, and granular cross-channel visibility.
  

Step into the future of TV advertising with Tatari 

As YouTube TV continues to redefine how audiences engage with live and on-demand content, advertisers need smarter tools to keep pace. Tatari offers a unified platform to plan, buy, and measure campaigns across YouTube TV, streaming services, and traditional linear TV—bringing precision, scale, and transparency to every campaign. Learn how Tatari can elevate your media strategy in 2025 and beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These are the questions advertisers ask most often when exploring YouTube and YouTube TV. If you're new to the space or just looking to sharpen your strategy, you're in the right place.

Is YouTube TV the same thing as YouTube?

Not quite. YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service that delivers traditional broadcast and cable content over the internet. YouTube, on the other hand, is home to user-generated videos, creators, and on-demand content. Both are powerful platforms—but they serve different purposes for advertisers.

Can I target ads on YouTube TV?

Yes, and with precision. You can target by audience demographics, location, device type, and more. Platforms like Tatari make this even easier by layering in advanced targeting and optimization tools.

How does Tatari handle ad buying on YouTube TV?

Tatari taps into YouTube TV inventory through both programmatic channels and direct partnerships. They optimize campaigns in real time based on actual performance outcomes. That way, you're not just buying impressions, you're buying results.

What kinds of ads can I run on YouTube TV?

There’s a solid mix. You can run non-skippable in-stream ads, short bumpers, pause ads, and other formats depending on your goals and budget. Inventory availability plays a role, but there’s flexibility to get creative.

How do I know if my ads are working?

Tatari connects the dots between ad exposure and real-world outcomes such as site visits, conversions, and sales. Their attribution and incrementality tools give you a clear picture of what’s driving performance. Tatari does perform geo-targeted tests to gauge performance before scaling up to a full campaign.

Are there any drawbacks to advertising on YouTube TV?

It’s a premium platform, so costs can be higher than other streaming options. Also, channel availability can shift due to licensing negotiations, which is something to keep an eye on. Additionally, since YouTube TV is considered a walled garden (a closed ecosystem where the platform owner controls everything from user data to content to ad serving technology), it wouldn’t work with third-party measurements. 

Is YouTube TV dropping any channels in 2025?

As of now, there’s no official word on major channel removals. That said, carriage agreements are always evolving, so changes can happen.

What’s the latest with YouTube TV?

YouTube TV is actively expanding its features and content lineup. At the same time, it’s navigating ongoing negotiations with networks. Advertisers should anticipate continued updates as the platform grows.