For decades, the arrival of political advertising season was announced by the same unmistakable signal: the sudden appearance of attack ads during local news broadcasts, wedged between furniture store commercials and weather updates. Cable television was where campaigns went to find voters, and voters went to avoid campaigns.
That era, it appears, has concluded.
In the 2026 midterm cycle, connected television has overtaken cable as the preferred destination for political advertising dollars for the first time, according to data from AdImpact, a firm that tracks advertising expenditures. The shift represents something more than a line on a chart; it marks the moment when streaming completed its long march from curiosity to infrastructure.
Political advertisers have spent $11.4 billion through the current cycle, AdImpact reported, an increase of 28 percent from the 2022 midterms. Of the $2.5 billion in additional spending, more than half — 53 percent, to be precise — flowed to connected television platforms. Spending in the category grew 122 percent, rising from roughly $1.1 billion in 2022 to $2.4 billion in the current cycle.
The migration follows a pattern that media buyers have observed for several years, as audiences have relocated from scheduled programming to on-demand viewing. Where the voters go, the advertisements follow. (This has been true since approximately the invention of the handbill.)
Comcast, in a separate statement, noted the importance of reaching what it called "the right audiences," a phrase that has become something of a mantra among sellers of advertising inventory. Netflix, for its part, announced updates to its advertising offerings that it said would provide "better outcomes" for its clients.
The furniture store commercials, presumably, will remain on local news for the foreseeable future.
Original story published in adweek.com: "CTV Overtakes Cable in Political Ad Spend for the First Time in a Midterm"