The smart television home screen has surpassed traditional movie trailers as the primary discovery surface for theatrical releases and streaming rentals. Research released on December 17, 2025, from LG Ad Solutions demonstrates that 96% of moviegoers notice promotions on their TV home screens, fundamentally reshaping how studios allocate marketing budgets across the entertainment lifecycle.
LG Ad Solutions conducted an online survey in October 2025 with 1,030 US connected television viewers who either attended a theatrical screening within the past 12 months or planned to attend within the next 12 months. The study examined both in-theater and at-home movie viewing behavior, measuring the impact of television advertising on theatrical attendance and digital rental decisions.
Television advertisements emerged as the dominant discovery channel for new movies, with 79% of respondents citing TV ads as a source for learning about upcoming releases. Social media followed at 59%, while billboard advertisements registered just 9% and radio ads reached 6% of survey participants. The data reveals a substantial gap between television’s reach and other advertising formats that have historically driven movie marketing strategies.
Home screen promotions demonstrated measurable influence on purchase behavior across both theatrical and digital rental contexts. The research found that 95% of survey respondents considered TV home screen promotions influential in deciding to see a movie in theaters, while 70% expressed interest in seeing theatrical promotions on their TV home screens. Among viewers who saw home screen advertisements, 33% attended a theatrical screening after exposure to the promotion.
The at-home rental market showed even stronger conversion metrics. According to the study, 86% of viewers reported that home screen promotions reminded them when new movies became available to rent or purchase at home. Of those exposed to home screen rental promotions, 67% followed through by renting or purchasing the advertised movie. These conversion rates position the home screen as a direct revenue driver within the movie distribution ecosystem.
Viewing patterns revealed extended decision-making timelines that create advertising opportunities beyond opening weekend strategies. Half of US theatergoers typically attend movies after opening weekend rather than during the initial theatrical run. The study found 23% attend on opening weekend, while 51% watch after opening weekend, 17% wait until streaming rental availability, and 10% delay viewing until free streaming access through subscription services or television networks.
LG TV users showed slightly higher propensity for opening weekend attendance, with 33% attending during opening weekend compared to the 23% baseline. This 10 percentage point difference suggests that households with premium television equipment maintain stronger theatrical engagement during release windows.
Advance planning behavior creates additional touchpoints for home screen exposure. The research documented that 63% of theatergoers look up showtimes at least one day before attending a screening, with 52% checking showtimes one to few days in advance and 11% planning a week or more ahead. Only 38% search for showtimes on the day of showing.
Ticket purchase timing followed similar advance patterns. Among survey participants, 34% buy tickets at least one day before attending, with 30% purchasing one to few days in advance and 4% buying a week or more before screenings. The majority—66%—purchase tickets on the day of showing, creating a compressed decision window that necessitates sustained advertising presence.
Genre preferences and trailer quality ranked as primary drivers for theatrical attendance decisions. According to the study, 56% cited genre as a factor influencing theater decisions, while 54% identified interesting movie trailers as important. The desire for big-screen experience influenced 42% of respondents, followed by actors or director involvement at 39%, franchise continuation at 34%, friends and family recommendations at 34%, and positive critic reviews at 32%.
LG TV users demonstrated 17% higher sensitivity to franchise continuation compared to general respondents, suggesting that premium television households may maintain stronger attachment to serialized entertainment properties. This audience characteristic provides studios with targeting opportunities for franchise installments.
Megan Kovacs, VP and Head of Media & Entertainment at LG Ad Solutions, characterized the shift in discovery behavior in the announcement. “The Home Screen has quietly become the new movie trailer,” Kovacs stated. “Audiences want to see what’s new, where it’s available, and whether it’s worth their time — all in one place.”
The study identified substantial overlap between heavy theatergoers and heavy at-home movie viewers. Among survey participants, 41% qualified as both heavy theater viewers and heavy at-home viewers, while 31% registered as heavy theater viewers only and 27% as heavy at-home viewers only. This audience intersection suggests that theatrical and streaming marketing strategies require coordination rather than separation.
LG Ad Solutions reported 60% year-over-year growth in advertisers using home screen placements on November 18, 2025. Viewers spend an average of almost 10 minutes browsing home screens before selecting content, while 97% of LG Smart TV users visit the home screen an average of three times per day. Research conducted earlier in 2025 found that 71% of people who see home screen ads express willingness to learn more about advertised brands.
The study arrives as connected television advertising effectiveness continues expanding through improved measurement capabilities. Research released in August 2025 demonstrated that enhanced creative formats achieve 78% higher attention rates than industry standards. Teads research from September 2025 showed CTV home screen ads achieved 48% attention rates, surpassing YouTube skippable pre-roll advertisements by 16 percentage points.
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Connected television budget allocation has doubled from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, with 72% of marketers planning increased programmatic investment. CTV advertising spending approached $33.35 billion in 2025, reflecting advertiser recognition of streaming platform performance capabilities. Programmatic transactions represented 75% of CTV spend in 2024.
LG Ad Solutions recommended four strategic approaches for theatrical release campaigns. First, movie advertisers should utilize CTV and home screen ads to drive awareness ahead of theatrical releases and at-home availability, given television’s dominance as the top discovery format. Second, theatrical advertisers should plan extended campaigns starting early and running throughout a movie’s theatrical run to reach potential theatergoers across decision phases.
Third, given the significant overlap between heavy theatergoers and heavy at-home viewers, studios can target broader audiences using automatic content recognition segment data and third-party data signals including theater visits and purchase behavior. Fourth, theatrical advertisers can enhance trailer assets with interactive features like QR codes and location-based messaging to increase engagement and drive ticket purchases.
The research highlighted specific targeting capabilities available through LG’s advertising infrastructure. Dynamic geolocation ads can streamline theatergoers’ showtime searches, while advanced creative capabilities including dynamic creative optimization enable studios to complement trailer assets with interactive elements. Home screen roadblocks offer exclusive access and guaranteed share of voice on LG home screens.
Previous measurement from Foursquare demonstrated practical application of these advertising formats. Using a combination of LG home screen ads and targeted home screen roadblocks, an unnamed studio drove 84,000 theater visits and achieved 3.5x return on ad spend for a new movie release. These performance metrics provide empirical support for home screen advertising’s revenue impact beyond awareness objectives.
The broader transformation in CTV advertising formats continues developing through industry standardization efforts. IAB Tech Lab published standardized guidelines for six connected television ad formats on December 11, 2025, including pause ads, menu ads, squeezeback formats, overlay ads, in-scene insertions, and screensaver ads. These formats exist outside traditional commercial breaks and have proliferated across streaming platforms without consistent implementation standards.
Marketing professionals face persistent creative adaptation challenges despite available measurement capabilities. Research published in July 2025 revealed that 72% of marketers reuse or slightly modify assets across platforms, while just 25% tailor creative for both social and connected TV campaigns. This disconnect between video advertising strategy and creative execution presents obstacles as video consumption patterns continue reshaping the advertising landscape.
The shift toward home screen dominance reflects fundamental changes in television consumption architecture. For decades, being first in break—the initial advertisement after programming—commanded peak attention and recall. As viewing migrated from linear schedules to streaming platforms, attention dynamics shifted. The first-on-screen opportunity now supersedes traditional broadcast positioning advantages.
Retail media and CTV convergence creates additional complexity for movie marketing budgets. IAB Europe analysis published on November 6, 2025, examined data-driven targeting synergies between retail media networks and connected television advertising platforms. The convergence occurs amid strong growth projections for both sectors, with CTV advertising spending forecast at $26.6 billion in 2025.
LG Ad Solutions, incorporated as Alphonso Inc., operates as a global leader in advanced advertising for connected TV and cross-screen devices. The company’s network of LG Smart TVs worldwide offers advertisers scale, reach, and personalized precision on the largest screen in the home. LG Ad Solutions launched the Agentiv artificial intelligence platform on October 30, 2025, supporting more than 20 intelligent agents that enhance operational workflows and data-driven processes.
The study’s findings carry implications for how entertainment studios structure theatrical release campaigns across increasingly fragmented media environments. Traditional trailer distribution through theatrical exhibition, broadcast television, and digital platforms now competes with persistent home screen presence that reaches audiences during high-intent moments when viewers actively select entertainment.
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Timeline
- August 19, 2025 — Kargo CTV campaigns achieve 78% higher attention than industry standards according to TVision measurement
- September 25, 2025 — Teads CTV HomeScreen ads achieve 48% attention rate, outpacing YouTube by 16 percentage points
- October 23, 2025 — Teads launches deterministic CTV measurement for streaming campaigns with performance tracking
- November 5, 2025 — Industry experts warn against treating CTV like display campaigns as measurement challenges persist
- November 12, 2025 — Retail media and CTV converge as shopping shifts to streaming platforms according to IAB Europe
- November 18, 2025 — LG Ad Solutions reports 60% growth in home screen advertising placements year-over-year
- December 11, 2025 — IAB Tech Lab releases CTV ad format standards for public comment through January 31, 2026
- December 17, 2025 — LG Ad Solutions releases Silver Screen & Home Screen study on movie viewing behavior
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Summary
Who: LG Ad Solutions conducted research with 1,030 US connected television viewers who attended or planned to attend theatrical movies. Megan Kovacs, VP and Head of Media & Entertainment at LG Ad Solutions, announced the findings.
What: The study revealed that 96% of moviegoers notice TV home screen promotions, 95% find them influential for theatrical decisions, and 67% rent or purchase movies after seeing home screen advertisements. Television advertising emerged as the top discovery channel at 79%, surpassing social media at 59%.
When: LG Ad Solutions conducted the online survey in October 2025 and announced results on December 17, 2025. The research examined viewing behavior from the past 12 months and plans for the next 12 months.
Where: The study focused on US connected television viewers representative of US Census by age and gender. The research covered both theatrical attendance behavior and at-home streaming consumption patterns.
Why: Smart TV home screens have replaced traditional discovery channels as the primary surface where audiences learn about new movies and make viewing decisions. The shift matters because home screen advertising drives measurable theatrical attendance and rental conversions, with 84,000 theater visits documented in one campaign achieving 3.5x return on ad spend.