New global research from independent software company DoubleVerify has revealed YouTube is the platform seeing the strongest rise in marketer investment.
The 2026 Global Insights report, ‘Streaming’s Shift From Promise to Performance’, found 70 per cent of marketers said they increased their streaming investment in YouTube over the past year – ahead of Netflix (65 per cent), Amazon Prime (59 per cent) and Samsung streaming environments (48 per cent).
The findings, based on surveys of more than 2000 marketers and 22,000 consumers across more than 20 global markets, underline how rapidly streaming TV has evolved from an experimental channel into a core pillar of modern advertising strategies.
“Globally, streaming TV has become a core part of the modern media mix,” said Todd Randak, GM, CTV at DoubleVerify.
“Marketers are recognizing the value of platforms where consumers are spending more of their viewing time, particularly environments that can deliver both scale and measurable business outcomes.”
The report suggests the shift is being driven not only by changing consumer viewing habits, but by growing confidence in streaming platforms’ ability to deliver measurable performance, transparency and brand safety.
Randak said the industry had made significant progress over the past year in addressing some of the biggest concerns that had previously held back investment.
“The data in this report shows these efforts, alongside broader industry progress, are paying off,” he said.
“Streaming TV is no longer just a high-growth channel with high-growth problems. It’s evolving into an accountable performance channel built on something that matters more than any single product: trust earned through collaboration.”
According to the report, improvements in app transparency and a sharp decline in fraud rates across connected TV advertising have helped strengthen advertiser confidence globally.
“The average global fraud rate for CTV video ads plummeted last year, a testament to the combined impact of stronger pre-bid protections, more sophisticated filtering and an industry-wide recognition that premium inventory requires premium safeguards,” Randak added.
Despite the growth, marketers are still pushing for better targeting, measurement and verification tools before committing even more budget to streaming environments.
More than half of surveyed advertisers said more precise targeting capabilities across the campaign lifecycle – including show-level insights, audience segmentation and daypart measurement – would be the most valuable improvement for the sector.
The research also highlighted advertisers want stronger third-party verification confirming ads appeared on the shows and devices intended, as well as better integration between streaming campaigns and marketing mix modelling or attribution tools.
Nearly eight in 10 marketers expressed confidence in the performance of interactive streaming ads featuring QR codes, polls or clickable hotspots, while 76 per cent said they believed shoppable ads – allowing viewers to purchase products directly from streaming content – would perform strongly.
