What is a Good CPM for Legal Advertising?

CPM — cost per thousand impressions — is the standard pricing metric for CTV advertising. But "good" CPM depends entirely on what you're getting for that price.

Here's how to evaluate whether you're paying fair rates.

Current CPM Benchmarks by Platform

Premium Tier ($35-55 CPM)

Platform	CPM Range	What You Get
Netflix	$35-45	Prestige content, affluent audience, low ad load
Max (HBO)	$40-55	Premium entertainment, brand-safe
Hulu (direct)	$35-50	Next-day network content, established targeting

Worth it when: Brand positioning matters, targeting affluent demographics, premium content adjacency has value.

Mid-Tier ($25-35 CPM)

Platform	CPM Range	What You Get
Peacock	$25-30	NBC content, live sports, news
Hulu (programmatic)	$25-35	Same content, less control
Prime Video	$25-35	Amazon data, broad reach
YouTube CTV	$25-30	Massive scale, Google targeting
Disney+	$28-35	Family content, brand-safe
Paramount+	$20-30	CBS content, sports

Worth it when: Balance of quality and efficiency needed, sports inventory valuable, broad streaming reach desired.

Value Tier ($15-25 CPM)

Platform	CPM Range	What You Get
Tubi	$15-25	100M+ users, library content
Freevee	$15-25	Amazon data targeting
Pluto TV	$12-22	Linear channels, higher ad load
Roku Channel	$20-35	Device data, mixed content

Worth it when: Reach matters more than prestige, budget constraints, awareness-focused campaigns.

What Affects Your CPM

Targeting Precision

More specific targeting = higher CPM.

Targeting Type	CPM Impact
Run of network	Base rate
Demographics only	+5-10%
Geographic (DMA)	+10-15%
Behavioral targeting	+15-30%
Advanced layering	+40-60%

Example: Base CPM of $25 + demographic targeting (+$2) + geographic (+$3) + behavioral (+$5) = $35 effective CPM.

The premium is usually worth it — precise targeting means less waste.

Content Adjacency

Where your ad runs affects price:

Content Type	CPM Premium
General entertainment	Base rate
News programming	+10-15%
Live sports	+30-50%
Premium originals	+20-30%
Tentpole events	+50-100%+

NFL Sunday Night Football commands much higher CPMs than a Tuesday night movie on Tubi.

Seasonality

CTV demand fluctuates:

Period	CPM Impact	Why
Q1 (Jan-Mar)	-10-15%	Post-holiday softness
Q2 (Apr-Jun)	Base rate	Normal demand
Q3 (Jul-Sep)	Base rate	Back-to-school ramp
Q4 (Oct-Dec)	+15-30%	Holiday competition

Tentpole events: Super Bowl, Olympics, elections, and major premieres spike CPMs significantly. Plan around them or budget accordingly.

Inventory Type

How you buy affects price:

Buying Method	CPM Impact
Programmatic open	Base rate
Private marketplace	+10-20%
Direct IO	+15-25%
Sponsorship	+25-40%

Programmatic buying through aggregated platforms typically delivers the best CPM efficiency for most law firm budgets.

CPM vs. Effective CPM

Raw CPM doesn't tell the full story. Calculate what you're actually paying per completed view:

The Completion Factor

Platform	CPM	Completion	Effective CPCV
Netflix	$40	97%	$0.041
Hulu	$32	95%	$0.034
Tubi	$20	95%	$0.021
YouTube (skippable)	$22	35%	$0.063

Key insight: CTV's non-skippable format means near-100% completion. YouTube's lower CPM is deceiving when 65% of viewers skip.

The Waste Factor

CPM means nothing if you're reaching the wrong people.

Scenario A: $40 CPM, precise targeting, 80% relevant audience

• Effective CPM for relevant impressions: $50

Scenario B: $20 CPM, broad targeting, 30% relevant audience

• Effective CPM for relevant impressions: $67

Lower CPM with high waste costs more than higher CPM with precision.

Legal-Specific Considerations

Legal Targeting Premium

Legal audiences are valuable and limited. Expect:

• 10-20% premium over general market rates
• Limited inventory for injury/accident content targeting
• Competition from other legal advertisers

Compliance Costs

Some platforms charge for:

• Legal creative review
• Compliance verification
• Geographic restriction management
• Disclaimer requirements

Factor these into total cost, not just CPM.

Case Value Math

Legal CPM tolerance is higher than most industries because case values justify the investment.

Example calculation:

• CPM: $35
• Monthly impressions: 600,000
• Monthly cost: $21,000
• Leads generated: 50
• Cases signed: 8
• Average case value: $35,000
• Revenue generated: $280,000
• ROAS: 13:1

At $35,000+ case values, even "expensive" CPMs can deliver strong returns.

When to Pay More

Premium CPMs Make Sense When:

Sports inventory: Live sports delivers attention that general programming can't match. The 30-50% premium for NFL, NBA, or UFC inventory may be worth it for the engagement quality.

Brand positioning: Appearing alongside prestige content signals quality. For firms building premium positioning, Netflix or Max adjacency has brand value beyond impressions.

Precise targeting: If behavioral data identifies high-intent audiences (recent ER visits, auto searches, etc.), the targeting premium pays for itself in lead quality.

Competitive markets: In saturated DMAs, premium inventory may be the only way to stand out from competitors flooding value-tier platforms.

Value CPMs Make Sense When:

Reach is primary goal: Building broad awareness in a new market? FAST platforms deliver 2-3x the impressions per dollar.

Testing creative: Before committing premium budget, test messaging on lower-CPM inventory to find what resonates.

Frequency building: After establishing awareness on premium, value platforms can maintain frequency efficiently.

Budget constraints: If $15K/month is the ceiling, FAST platforms provide TV presence that premium CPMs can't.

Red Flags in CPM Pricing

Too Good to Be True

Warning Sign	What It Might Mean
CPMs under $10	Low-quality inventory, fraud risk
"Premium inventory at value prices"	Mislabeled inventory
No platform transparency	They're hiding where ads run
Guaranteed impressions at low CPM	Likely non-viewable or bot traffic

Hidden Costs

Watch for fees that inflate effective CPM:

• Platform fees (on top of media)
• Data fees (for targeting segments)
• Reporting fees
• Creative trafficking fees
• Management fees on top of media CPM

Get all-in pricing before comparing options.

How to Evaluate Your Current CPMs

Questions to Ask Your Partner

1. "What's my blended CPM across all inventory?"
2. "What targeting is included in that rate?"
3. "What platforms are my ads running on?"
4. "What's my completion rate?"
5. "How does my CPM compare to benchmark?"

Calculating Value

Step 1: Calculate effective CPM

• (Total spend / Total impressions) × 1,000 = Blended CPM

Step 2: Factor completion

• Blended CPM / Completion rate = Cost per completed view × 1,000

Step 3: Factor targeting precision

• Estimate % of impressions reaching relevant audience
• Effective CPM / Relevance % = True cost per relevant completed view

Step 4: Compare to outcomes

• What did those impressions generate in leads/cases?
• Work backward to acceptable CPM for your economics

The Bottom Line

Good CPM for legal advertising:

• FAST platforms: $15-25
• Mid-tier streaming: $25-35
• Premium inventory: $35-55
• Sports/tentpole: $45-70+

But CPM is one metric among many. A $40 CPM delivering qualified leads beats a $15 CPM generating nothing.

Focus on:

• Cost per completed view (accounting for completion rates)
• Effective CPM (accounting for targeting precision)
• Cost per lead (the metric that actually matters)
• Return on ad spend (the final calculation)

The cheapest CPM is expensive if it doesn't generate cases.

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Want to audit your current CTV costs? Let's review your media and see if you're getting fair rates.