IAB’s Own Figure: $80 Billion in Digital Video
IAB’s 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, developed in partnership with Advertiser Perceptions and Guideline, projects US digital video ad spend will surpass $80 billion in 2026, growing 11% year over year, a pace the report itself describes as “nearly 20% faster than the total ad market.” The same report expects digital video to exceed 60% of total TV and video ad spend for the first time in 2026.
Inside that digital video total, the growth story has shifted internally too: social video is growing 13%, outpacing connected TV’s 11% growth, the first time social video has out-grown CTV in this report’s tracking.
The Full Channel Breakdown, and Where the Two Sources Disagree
PPC Chief compiled a fuller 2026 channel-by-channel breakdown, attributing each line item individually to either eMarketer or MAGNA Global: Search at $260 billion (up 7.2%, eMarketer), Social Media at $220 billion (up 14.6%, MAGNA Global), Display at $150 billion (up 5.8%, MAGNA Global), Digital Video at $95 billion (up 12.0%, MAGNA Global), Retail Media at $60 billion (up 14.1%, eMarketer), and Other Digital at $50 billion (up 8.0%, MAGNA Global). Search holds the largest single channel share of the group, at 31% of total digital ad investment, and linear TV is the sole channel this compilation shows declining, down 1.7% year over year.
PPC Chief’s $95 billion digital-video figure sits well above IAB’s own $80 billion projection for the same category and year. The two reports most likely define “digital video” differently in scope, and this page treats them as two separate, individually sourced figures rather than reconciling them into one number.
The Numbers
US digital video ad spend is projected to surpass $80 billion in 2026, up 11% year over year, “nearly 20% faster than the total ad market,” per IAB’s own 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report.
Digital video is expected to exceed 60% of total TV and video ad spend for the first time in 2026, with social video growing 13%, outpacing connected TV’s 11% growth, also for the first time, per the same IAB report.
A separate channel breakdown puts 2026 US digital ad spend at Search $260B (+7.2%), Social Media $220B (+14.6%), Display $150B (+5.8%), Digital Video $95B (+12.0%), Retail Media $60B (+14.1%), and Other Digital $50B (+8.0%), each line item sourced individually to eMarketer or MAGNA Global.
PPC Chief, “Digital Ad Spend Statistics 2026,” per-line attribution to eMarketer and MAGNA Global
Search holds the largest single channel share, at 31% of total digital ad investment, while linear TV is the sole channel measured that is declining, down 1.7% year over year.
PPC Chief, “Digital Ad Spend Statistics 2026,” per-line attribution to eMarketer and MAGNA Global
Sources
The external data in this article draws on the sources below. Figures described in the text as estimates or industry triangulations are directional and are not attributed to a single dataset.
- IAB, “U.S. Digital Video Ad Spend to Surpass $80B in 2026”
- PPC Chief, “Digital Ad Spend Statistics 2026,” per-line attribution to eMarketer and MAGNA Global