The rise of CTV IRL: Valuable TV audiences are no longer just sitting at home

The rise of CTV IRL: Valuable TV audiences are no longer just sitting at home

For decades, the advertising industry fixated on the living room and linear television viewership. Connected TV then reshaped how audiences stream and engage with content at home and on second-screen devices. But a new frontier is gaining momentum, and it looks a lot more like real life, Atmosphere TV reports.

Call it CTV IRL: connected TV in the places where people are more frequently spending time, such as restaurants, gyms, bars, and airports. Reaching them where they gather, socialize, and are often considering their next purchase. This isn’t a theoretical shift. It’s happening.

Research from McKinsey found that 65% of Gen Z consumers are prioritizing experiences over material goods, gravitating toward shared environments like fitness studios, bars, restaurants, malls, and wellness destinations. Research from Deloitte reinforces this, noting that physical venues are no longer just transactional, they’re becoming hubs for connection and entertainment. And according to Placer.ai, foot traffic is steadily rebounding across categories, from gyms to restaurants to offices, signaling a broader (and enduring) return to routines outside the home.

In other words, the “third space” is no longer on the sidelines. It’s where culture is happening, and that’s changing the role of TVs in those environments.

For years, TV in public spaces wasn’t relevant or entertaining: Long-form dramas, game shows, muted cable news, and talking sports analysts that fill a screen but rarely won attention. But these environments are evolving, fueled by cross-channel viewing behaviors extending beyond TV to channels like TikTok and YouTube, where people are increasingly engaging with compelling, sound optional, short-form content. More and more, screens are becoming part of the experience itself.

CTV IRL is helping advertisers get in front of this shift, rethinking what content looks like when it’s designed specifically for these settings: visual, contextual, and built for what earns people’s attention outside the living room.

A new study from advertising research firm MediaScience proves linear TV no longer dominates what people are watching, and creator-inspired content is earning attention and delivering impact through “third space” TVs. Using eye-tracking technology in real-world viewing environments, the study found that audio-optional, visually-arresting programming can drive 12% more visual attention than traditional linear TV programming. In some cases, viewers spent significantly more time actively watching this content than when TV dramas or sports highlights were playing on an adjacent TV.

More importantly, brand recall was meaningfully higher, suggesting that when content is purposefully designed to be social, visual, and situational, it also becomes more impactful.

Attention today isn’t just about reach or screen size. It’s about relevance to the moment.

CTV IRL sits at the intersection of three powerful shifts:

• The return to IRL experiences among consumers.
• The preference for shared, public TV viewing occasions.
• The evolution of TV content and advertising to earn attention across viewing environments.

For marketers, this opens up a different kind of opportunity. It’s not just about reaching audiences. It’s showing up in moments that feel natural, social, and authentic.

Because increasingly, the most valuable screen isn’t the one in your home. It’s the one you didn’t plan to watch, but did.

This story was produced by Atmosphere TV and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.