Observed Signal · Jun 10, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: Adzine · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
2026 Becomes a Key Year for the Big Screen
An ADZINE interview with Samsung representatives frames 2026—bookended by the Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup—as a pivotal year for Connected TV (CTV) and the television “Big Screen.” Samsung cites shifts in fragmented viewing but notes live global sports create collective, high-attention moments that concentrate audiences on Smart TVs. Reported metrics include rising app starts in Germany, steep increases in streaming during the Winter Games, and large-scale delivery and interaction with Samsung homescreen ad formats. Samsung also describes a device-level reach and measurement solution within its Smart TV ecosystem that aims to unify linear and streaming measurement while complying with privacy rules. Samsung expects the World Cup to accelerate CTV use in Europe and reports strong at-home viewing intent among its Smart TV users.
Samsung reports new device-level measurement capability and provides large-scale CTV engagement metrics tied to global live sports; this is relevant for media planners and advertisers allocating TV/CTV budgets, but it is not a platform-wide policy shift.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Germany recorded 4.83 billion app starts, up 5% year-over-year, per Samsung analyses.
- During the Winter Games, 10.1 million Smart‑TVs were turned on daily for linear broadcasts across the EU5 (Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy), an 11% increase versus the previous year—approximately 17.7 million viewers when extrapolated.
- Streaming usage for apps broadcasting the Winter Games rose 34% in measured viewer numbers.
- Samsung Smart‑TVs delivered 1.4 billion impressions via First‑Screen‑Ads during the Winter Games; 6% of reached users actively interacted with those ad units.
- Samsung reports a device-level reach and measurement solution inside the Samsung Smart TV ecosystem that combines linear TV and streaming measurement while meeting data‑protection requirements.
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Smart‑TV Homescreen Becomes a CTV Planning Metric
Samsung Ads' Behind the Screens 2026 report—based on first‑party telemetry from over 73 million connected Samsung TVs in Europe and a survey of 15,000 Smart‑TV owners across Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain—finds the Smart‑TV homescreen is emerging as a central entry point for viewers. The study reports rising app activity (German app starts rose 5% to 4.83 billion; EU5 app starts up 8% to 18.4 billion) and shows viewers often choose content by title rather than platform. Key implications for advertisers: planning must account for usage that converges on the same device across linear TV, streaming, gaming and app surfaces; AVOD is growing; younger viewers use more apps and move between services; and a small share of households still accounts for most linear TV consumption.
Samsung Ads Report: Fragmented CTV Viewing Patterns
Samsung Ads’ Behind the Screens 2026 report, built on first-party data from more than 70 million Samsung smart TVs in Europe and supported by custom consumer research, finds that Connected TV viewing is highly fragmented. The report shows an average of five apps per household in 2025 and 18.4 billion app launches (up 8% year‑over‑year). Younger viewers use ~21% more apps and follow content across subscription and free services rather than staying loyal to platforms. No single environment captures the full CTV audience (24% of Samsung TVs account for 81% of linear viewing; 27% stream and never watch linear). The TV home screen is a primary discovery moment (accessed >5x per day; ~90% use it to choose what to watch). Samsung highlights advertiser opportunities and measurement tools (e.g., TotalView™) to address reach and planning across linear, streaming and gaming.
Connected TV: The Rise of Mobile-Driven Advertising
ADZINE discusses how Connected TV is reshaping advertising through data-driven integration of TV and mobile signals, with the Homescreen becoming a premier discovery and advertising surface amid growing streaming fragmentation. The Homescreen is described as a high-reach environment where users start their TV journey roughly five times a day and spend over ten minutes browsing, enabling incremental reach and cross-screen campaigns. In Germany, H2 2024 saw 2.3 billion Samsung Smart-TV app launches, up 12% year over year. Europe-wide, 70 million Smart-TVs are linked to 20 million Samsung smartphones to bolster the Second Screen approach. Prime time (21:00–22:00) reveals elevated parallel usage of TV and mobile, with TV usage up 22% and smartphone usage up 28% vs. daily averages. The data strategy relies on explicit user consent, uses first-party data plus mobile signals, includes MMP integrations (USA), and is in beta testing, with early use cases across finance, EVs, and beauty/fashion illustrating potential for mobile-conversion-driven CTV campaigns.
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