Half of CTV viewers use the home screen as their guide - and brands are taking notice

Connected TV has moved well past the adoption stage in Australia and a new report suggests it’s now reshaping how audiences choose what to watch, and respond to advertising.

According to The Big Shift 2025, 50% of Australian CTV viewers now rely on their TV’s home screen as the primary guide for what to watch. It’s a significant behavioural shift that positions the home screen as the new “primetime” and the one environment every viewer passes through before making a viewing choice.

For brands, that starting point is becoming premium real estate.

“The home screen is quickly becoming the new primetime,” Alex Blundell Jones, commercial director at LG Ad Solutions, said. “It’s where the viewing journey begins, and for brands and content providers, it represents one of the most valuable touchpoints to capture attention in a fragmented media landscape.”

SEE MORE: LG enters Australia’s $4.5bn CTV market

The growth of streaming as the dominant form of TV viewing, preferred by 63% of Australians, has created a new problem for audiences: choice overload. Content is spread across dozens of apps and platforms, with no single guide. As OzTam data shows, mass-audience tentpole programs are increasingly rare. In 2021, 66 shows averaged more than one million metro viewers, but by 2024 that number had fallen to just six.

In that environment, the home screen becomes a unifying moment, a rare shared space in an otherwise splintered market. LG’s data shows TV owners are especially likely to use built-in search and personalised hubs, underscoring the role of device makers in shaping viewing journeys.

The report also points to significant growth in free ad-supported streaming television (FAST). More than half of respondents (53%) use FAST apps for two or more hours per week, and year-on-year adoption has outpaced SVOD growth four to one.

Cost is a major driver. Eight in 10 viewers prefer lower-cost, ad-supported subscription streaming apps, while 64% prefer free content with ads over paying for an ad-free subscription. That creates clear opportunities for advertisers - and for platforms that can combine quality content with effective ad targeting.

CTV advertising prompts action

CTV ads are not only accepted by audiences, but often acted upon. After seeing a streaming ad, 37% of viewers visited a website, 36% searched for a product, 25% made a purchase, and 24% visited a store. Relevance matters: 77% want ads aligned to their interests, and 66% want ads related to the content they’re watching. Nearly half (47%) say they pay more attention to ads while streaming.

For marketers, that combination of high attention and measurable response makes CTV an increasingly attractive line item in the media plan, especially as the scale of traditional broadcast declines.

The report also challenges the idea of CTV as purely an on-demand environment. More than half (58%) of Australian CTV viewers have streamed live sports, while 32% have watched live award shows or music festivals.

“Live content is becoming a cornerstone of the CTV experience, especially in the world of sports,” Blundell Jones said. “With 58% of Australian viewers streaming live sports, we’re seeing how CTV is not just for on-demand entertainment - it’s where fans now gather for marquee cultural moments, big games, and shared experiences.”

The opportunity for brands

With nine in ten Australian internet users owning a connected TV, CTV is now a mainstream channel, but the fight for audience attention is moving closer to the point of power-on. The home screen’s emergence as a default guide gives brands a rare, consistent entry point to reach fragmented audiences.

For CTV platform owners and app providers, the implication is clear: control of the home screen is control of discovery. For advertisers, it’s an opportunity to make the first impression that shapes the viewing experience - and increasingly, the purchase journey.