The news: The CTV home screen is becoming premium ad real estate.

• The most prominent CTV device is a smart TV: 89% of TV households now own one, compared with 79% in 2024, per a new study from Hub Entertainment Research.
• 69% stream weekly through smart TV devices, such as Fire TVs, up from 62% in 2024.
• About half (49%) of viewers said the CTV home screen is the first thing they see when turning on their most-used device; 25% said the same for streaming media devices’ (such as a plugged-in Roku attachment) home screens. Pay TV was comparably lower at 13%.
• 28% of Fire TV users said they usually select from programs that appear on the home screen when looking for something to watch; 29% of Apple TV users, 26% of Android TV users, and 20% of Roku users said the same.

The impact of the home screen: High visibility is translating into stronger results for advertisers.

• Advanced creative home screen ads, such as interactive placements, boost the likelihood of enjoying an ad 66%, per LG Ad Solutions; it also gives a 61% increase in unaided recall compared with standard creative formats.
• Media platform Teads’ HomeScreen ad units—which appear on CTV home screens—achieved 50% unaided recall, meaning half of users could remember brands they saw on the home screen without prompting. Recall peaked at 84%, while 71% of viewers were also interested in discovering more about the brand.
• Teads also found that these units delivered two times higher clickthrough rates than standard display ads and three times higher conversion rates, with 70% of viewers taking action after seeing a HomeScreen ad.
• These ads performed strongly because 92% of viewers found them both relevant and non-intrusive.

Home screen ads are especially valuable in a CTV advertising market that is increasingly saturated, where marketers are struggling to stand out and viewer attitudes on ads are weakening.

15.6% of viewers are bothered by poorly placed streaming ads, per 2025 TiVo data—but the highly positive reception home screen ads maintain could combat this by ensuring ads remain visible and relevant without being disruptive.

Implications for marketers: The majority of TV viewing now takes place on CTV devices, making the home screen a particularly valuable touchpoint for marketers. As one of the first things viewers encounter, it offers an opportunity to place high-attention, non-intrusive ads at the start of the content discovery journey.

Testing home screen placements could therefore help marketers reach consumers when they are actively deciding what to watch, potentially strengthening attention, influencing consumer decisions, and driving measurable engagement.

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