While traditional media categories continue to face budget pressure, radio’s expanding role in OTT and CTV advertising is reshaping how the medium fits into the new year’s media plan, according to findings from Mediaocean’s 2026 Advertising Outlook.
The report shows that 63% of marketers plan to increase spending on CTV and digital video in 2026, placing streaming at the center of media investment decisions. As those dollars shift, radio sellers are increasingly packaging broadcast audio with OTT and CTV inventory, positioning radio as an entry point into premium video rather than a separate or declining channel.
That approach allows advertisers to combine high-frequency local audio reach with sight-and-sound video placements within a single buy.
This bundling addresses two of the industry’s most persistent challenges highlighted in the Mediaocean report: fragmentation and orchestration. Marketers continue to cite difficulty managing reach, frequency, and performance across disconnected platforms. Radio groups offering combined audio and CTV solutions provide a more centralized buying path, particularly for local and regional advertisers who lack the internal resources to manage multi-vendor video strategies.
The report also underscores radio’s operational advantage in a market increasingly focused on measurability and accountability. While digital video environments grow more complex, radio-led OTT and CTV sales leverage existing sales relationships and outcome-based conversations. Rather than requiring advertisers to navigate self-serve platforms or unfamiliar buying models, radio sellers are translating connected TV into familiar objectives tied to reach, message reinforcement, and response.
Audio’s role in these packages remains central. Repetition and familiarity delivered through broadcast radio complement the visual impact of CTV, improving message retention and recall. For advertisers without national budgets, the combined approach offers scale and consistency that standalone CTV often struggles to deliver efficiently.
The broader takeaway from the report is that radio’s evolution is being driven less by reinvention and more by extension. By linking broadcast audio with OTT and CTV, radio can align itself with the fastest-growing areas of media investment while maintaining the accountability and simplicity advertisers continue to value.
