iSpot Survey Finds 45% of Marketers Prioritize Business Outcomes as 73% Hold or Raise 2026 Budgets
Updated
Updated · Adweek · May 11
iSpot Survey Finds 45% of Marketers Prioritize Business Outcomes as 73% Hold or Raise 2026 Budgets
4 articles · Updated · Adweek · May 11
45% of marketers now rank business outcomes as the top factor in 2026 media buying and negotiations, according to iSpot’s annual survey released during the TV upfront season.
47% still call outcome measurement a significant challenge across linear TV and streaming, while 68% say independent third-party measurement is essential for objective media optimization.
73% expect 2026 marketing budgets to stay flat or rise—41.5% unchanged and 31.5% higher—with marketers allocating an average 37% of TV budgets to upfront deals.
50% plan to increase spending on social video and streaming/national CTV, and Smart TV OEM ad buying jumped to 55% from 25% in 2025.
80% already use AI in video strategy, but 45% question the reliability of AI-generated marketing outputs, underscoring the push for unified cross-platform proof of ROI.
As ad spend moves to digital, how can marketers prove ROI when nearly half admit they can’t measure it?
As media channels fragment, who will win the race to build the one measurement platform that rules them all?
With 80% of marketers using AI, is the ad industry's tech revolution being built on unreliable foundations?