This week, the MEERKATs attended the Thinkbox ‘TV Now and Next’ event in London, bringing together research, strategy and industry insight on the current and future state of television.
As independent media planners and buyers, we keep a clear, impartial view of the TV landscape and TV advertising trends. With the growth of streaming platforms, social video, and new viewing habits, understanding how TV continues to evolve helps ensure that campaigns are planned with the right mix of reach, context and impact.
The event provided a useful snapshot of how television is performing in today’s media environment – and what advertisers should be paying attention to.
TV still attracts huge audiences
The Thinkbox research team opened the morning with an overview of how TV viewing has changed over the past decade. The media world has seen significant disruption in that time. Brexit, GDPR and the Covid pandemic all reshaped consumer behaviour, while digital platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Disney+ dramatically increased the amount of available content.
Despite this rapid change, TV continues to dominate as a mass-reach medium.
One notable shift is how viewers approach television today. Rather than selecting channels, audiences increasingly choose programmes and content across a range of platforms and services. In the UK, locally produced content remains especially popular. British-made programmes accounted for 19 of the top 20 most-watched programmes in 2025, highlighting the continued strength of domestic TV production.
For advertisers, this reinforces TV’s ability to deliver large, engaged audiences at scale.
Context is key for advertising impact
One of the most important insights from the event was the role context plays in advertising effectiveness.
Shared viewing occasions – where people watch programmes together – can significantly improve campaign performance. Research presented by Thinkbox showed that these shared moments increase:
- Ad recall
- Brand trust
- Ad likability
In other words, where an advert appears can be just as important as the creative itself.
Premium, professionally produced TV environments help brands benefit from this context. The surrounding content, the scale of the audience and the shared viewing experience all contribute to stronger advertising outcomes.
For media planners, this highlights why placement and environment remain central to campaign success.
Viewers don’t think in TV acronyms
Another useful reminder came during the strategy section of the event: consumers don’t categorise television in the same way that marketers do. Industry professionals often talk about linear TV, BVOD, SVOD, AVOD and FAST channels. But for viewers, these distinctions rarely matter. From a consumer perspective, ‘TV is just TV.’
Audiences simply choose what they want to watch, whether that’s via traditional broadcast channels, streaming platforms or catch-up services. This shift emphasises the importance of planning TV holistically, focusing on audience reach and viewing behaviour rather than rigid channel definitions.
TV remains a trusted advertising environment
Trust was another key theme running throughout the event.
Television offers advertisers a regulated, professionally produced and independently measured environment – something that continues to differentiate it from many digital platforms. Research presented at the event showed that trust in TV advertising remains higher than advertising on social media or through influencers. For brands concerned with reputation, credibility and brand safety, TV therefore provides a particularly strong environment for messaging.
The cultural power of TV
Beyond reach and trust, television continues to play an important role in shaping cultural conversation.
Major programmes, live events and shared viewing moments can bring large audiences together in ways that few other media channels can replicate. For advertisers, this creates opportunities to place brands alongside moments that capture national attention and generate wider cultural relevance.
When campaigns tap into these shared moments, the results can extend far beyond simple impressions or reach.
Our key takeaways
The Thinkbox event reinforced several important themes about television’s place in today’s media opportunities:
- TV remains a dominant media channel in the UK
- Context plays a major role in advertising effectiveness
- Television offers a trusted environment for brands
- TV can deliver cultural impact at scale
For media planners and advertisers alike, the takeaway is clear: TV remains one of the most powerful channels available – particularly when campaigns make the most of context, content and audience behaviour.
Planning a TV campaign?
If you’re considering TV advertising as part of your media strategy, our team of independent media planners help brands navigate the evolving TV ecosystem and build campaigns that maximise reach, context and impact.
Get in touch with the MEERKATs to discuss how TV could work as part of your next campaign.