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CTV vs linear TV. How should you compare ROAS?
CTV vs linear TV. How should you compare ROAS?
Linear TV buys dayparts and footprints. CTV buys digital inventory on streaming screens. ROAS definitions rarely match, and incrementality for TV is a research problem, not a 2026 benchmark you should invent. eonik does not buy TV; It can help produce on-brand video you might adapt; You still traffic CTV separately.
CTV vs linear TV. How should you compare ROAS?
Linear TV buys dayparts and footprints. CTV buys digital inventory on streaming screens. ROAS definitions rarely match, and incrementality for TV is a research problem, not a 2026 benchmark you should invent. eonik does not buy TV; It can help produce on-brand video you might adapt; You still traffic CTV separately.
Do not cross-walk ROAS blindly
If finance needs incrementality, use holdouts or MMM, and still do not invent lift percentages. Linear and CTV count exposure differently.
A last-click digital ROAS next to a TV halo number is a slide, not a study. Label the clock.
Creative for a bigger screen
CTV still needs a first-second interrupt, just on a bigger screen and often with sound on. Safe zones and length differ from Reels.
Do not paste a 9:16 UGC hook onto CTV without a layout pass. That is a test, not a law.
Buying TV is not eonik
eonik does not traffic linear or CTV. Production of an on-brand file can still live on Mac.
You approve the cut. You still buy dayparts or digital TV inventory elsewhere.
CTV vs linear TV
| Linear TV | CTV | |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | Dayparts and footprints | Digital streaming inventory |
| ROAS | Often modeled / incrementality | Often digital-looking, still not last-click truth |
| eonik | Optional on-brand video | Optional on-brand video. You traffic it |
Lean linear when
- Footprint and daypart are the job finance understands
- You have an incrementality design, not a vanity ROAS
- Creative can live as a longer master
Lean CTV when
- You want digital buying on a TV screen
- You can still fund an incrementality read
- You will adapt the opening for a bigger screen, not paste Reels
What usually breaks
- Putting linear ROAS and digital ROAS in one column.
- Inventing a 2026 CTV ROAS league table.
- Shipping a vertical UGC file to CTV without a layout pass.
eonik is not an attribution, tagging, or budget suite. After you understand the readout, the lever you still control is what you make next. Start at how to generate AI ads. You approve every cut; nothing spends.
“Almost any question can be answered, cheaply, quickly, and finally, by a test campaign. And that’s the way to answer them, not by arguments around a table.”
That principle still holds. The next on-brand cut is yours to approve.
Sources
Questions
What is a good CTV ROAS in 2026?
Not published here. Use your incrementality design, not a blog average. Linear and CTV count exposure differently. There is no official 2026 CTV ROAS benchmark on this page; Compare contribution inside your own P&L; eonik does not buy TV inventory.
Can I compare CTV ROAS to Meta ROAS?
Only with heavy footnotes. Windows, incrementality, and what counts as a conversion rarely match. A cross-walk without those notes is how decks lie. Use MMM or holdouts if finance needs altitude; Then still decide what creative to make next; That file is separate from the buy.
Does eonik traffic CTV?
No. It can help you produce an on-brand video you might adapt for a bigger screen. You still traffic CTV or linear yourself. Consider the opening, assemble the cut on Mac, approve it; Start at how to generate AI ads, then download; Nothing spends.
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