In a world saturated with advertising opportunities, it can take time for brands to determine where to allocate resources to create the most impact.
For many advertisers, news programming offers a trusted and effective environment. But some brands avoid it, convinced that proximity to unpredictable news coverage will unwittingly associate them with controversial or negative content.
However, research shows that these fears are unfounded.
A recent Stagwell survey of 50,000 U.S. adults found that ads appearing near stories on politics, inflation, and crime perform just as well as those next to business, entertainment, and sports stories.1 Additionally, a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 84% of news consumers believe advertising within news programming either maintains or boosts brand trust.2
On top of brand safety, advertising on cable news drives incredible reach. In 2024, primetime cable programming across Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN drew in over four million viewers.3
Cable News Delivers Unique Audiences
With Comcast households spending an average of 36 hours per month watching news content, 90% of which is viewed live,4 advertisers have ample opportunity for audience reach. More than that, analyses of both traditional TV-only and multiscreen TV campaigns found that news delivers unique audiences: 25% of traditional TV-only and 27% of multiscreen TV campaign reach are unique to cable news.5 That means, in this case, at least a quarter of audiences would have been missed had news been excluded from their advertising campaign mix.
While cable news programming still draws in a large number of viewers, streaming platforms with news content, like FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV), provide access to harder-to-reach audiences like those without pay TV services.
FAST Expands Advertising Opportunities
FAST is a valuable complement to traditional TV, and the platform’s popularity among advertisers and audiences is surging. An analysis of 7100 multiscreen TV campaigns found that 87% of households reached by FAST were incremental to the traditional TV component of the campaign.6
And similar to cable TV news, FAST news channels connect advertisers with unique audiences.
In the first half of 2024, one in four Comcast households watched news content via FAST channels – an audience that’s more than half the size of cable and network news audiences.7 And 25% of news-watching households were reached through FAST alone.7
These numbers prove that FAST is no longer a niche streaming option – it’s an increasingly powerful delivery vehicle that offers advertisers access to diverse and hard-to-reach audiences.
And as more publishers and TV manufacturers adopt or develop FAST platforms, FAST viewership will continue to grow. By 2028, eMarketer predicts it will increase by 12% to reach over 125 million annual viewers.8
Leveraging the Power of News Across Screens and Platforms
Incorporating cable TV and FAST news into the advertising media mix allows advertisers to reach untapped audiences. And as news viewership fragments the video landscape, advertising across screens and platforms is a critical component to reaching audiences.
Many brands relegate their news campaign dollars to traditional TV but advertisers can’t afford to miss out on the 25% of news viewers who watch news exclusively on FAST.7 Leveraging both tactics allow brands to optimize the reach and impact of their campaigns. Together, they form a comprehensive strategy that reaches news viewers however they are watching.
Sources:
1. Stagwell, “Stagwell (STGW) Releases News Advertising Study Revealing It is Safe for Brands to Advertise Adjacent to Quality News Content Despite Overblown Fears,” 2025.
2. Interactive Advertising Bureau, “The News Trust Halo: How Advertising in News Benefits Brands,” 2020.
3. Adweek, “This is the Cable News Ratings Report for 2024,” 2024.
4. Comcast Aggregated Viewership Data 1H’24.
5. Comcast Aggregated Viewership Data combined with Ad Exposure Data from TV + Effectv Streaming campaigns (1H ‘24). News defined as major News Networks.
6. Comcast Aggregated Viewership Data combined with Ad Exposure Data (7,100+ campaigns including both linear TV & any combination of FAST services including: Xumo, Pluto & Tubi; Local Market Advertisers; Jan-Jun 2024).
7. Comcast aggregated ad exposure data for TV and streaming, Time Periods used: 2023=Jan-Dec 2023 and 2024=Jan-May 2024, Cable/Network news includes sources like: ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, FXNC, MSNBC, and NBC News. FAST news includes sources like: XUMO Local News, Pluto News, Local Now, and Cheddar. Total HHs.
8. eMarketer, “US Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) Viewers, 2022-2028,” 2025.
