Is Streaming TV Better Than Cable for Lawyer Ads?

The audience has moved. The ad dollars are following — slowly.

Streaming now represents 46%+ of all TV viewing. Cable has dropped below 30%. Yet most legal advertisers still spend 70-80% of TV budgets on traditional media.

Here's why the math favors streaming, and when cable still makes sense.

Where the Audience Actually Is

The Viewing Share Reality

Platform Type	Viewing Share (2025)	Trend
Streaming	46%+	Growing 3-5% annually
Cable	28-30%	Declining 4-6% annually
Broadcast	20-22%	Declining slowly

The shift by age:

• Adults 18-34: 65%+ streaming
• Adults 35-49: 55%+ streaming
• Adults 50-64: 40%+ streaming
• Adults 65+: 25-30% streaming

Younger demographics have largely abandoned cable. Even older viewers are shifting as streaming becomes easier.

Cord-Cutting Acceleration

Year	Cable Subscribers	YoY Change
2020	76 million	-6%
2022	65 million	-7%
2024	55 million	-8%
2026 (proj)	45 million	-9%

Cable loses 5-6 million subscribers annually. Those viewers don't stop watching TV — they switch to streaming.

The Comparison

Targeting Precision

Capability	Cable	Streaming
Geographic	DMA/zone	DMA, zip code, radius
Demographic	Age/gender (estimated)	Age/gender (verified)
Behavioral	None	Purchase, browsing, interests
Household	None	Household composition, income
Frequency control	Limited	Precise

Cable reality: You buy a time slot and hope your audience is watching. Everyone tuning in sees your ad — whether they're a potential client or not.

Streaming reality: You define your audience first, then reach them across whatever content they're watching. Impressions go to targeted households, not random viewers.

Attribution

Metric	Cable	Streaming
Impression verification	Estimated	Actual
Completion tracking	None	95%+ measured
Website visit attribution	None	Pixel-based
Search lift measurement	Difficult	Standard
Frequency reporting	Estimated	Exact

Cable attribution: You ran ads. Phone calls happened. Maybe related? You'll never know for sure.

Streaming attribution: You can see which households saw your ad, track website visits, measure branded search lift, and understand the customer journey.

Cost Efficiency

Factor	Cable	Streaming
CPM range	$15-35	$15-45
Waste (non-target impressions)	40-60%	10-20%
Effective CPM (target audience)	$35-75	$20-55
Production requirements	Same	Same
Minimum commitments	Higher	Lower

Cable's lower CPM is deceiving. When 50% of impressions reach people outside your target audience, you're paying twice what the CPM suggests for relevant reach.

Reach and Scale

Factor	Cable	Streaming
Total potential reach	Declining (55M HH)	Growing (130M+ HH)
Older demographics (55+)	Still strong	Catching up
Younger demographics (18-49)	Weak	Strong
Cord-cutter coverage	None	Full
Cord-never coverage	None	Full

Cable reaches cable subscribers. Period. Streaming reaches everyone with an internet connection and a TV.

When Cable Still Works

Older Demographics

Adults 65+ still over-index on cable. If your practice serves seniors (estate planning, nursing home abuse, social security disability), cable may deliver efficient reach to this demographic.

Live Sports (Some)

Regional sports networks on cable still carry valuable inventory. However, major sports are increasingly streaming:

• NFL: Peacock, Prime Video, YouTube TV
• NBA: Peacock, Prime Video (coming)
• MLB: Apple TV+, Peacock
• UFC: Paramount+ (exclusive starting 2026)

The sports argument for cable weakens each year.

Local News

Local news remains primarily broadcast/cable. For firms wanting news adjacency, traditional TV provides this inventory. However, local news apps are expanding streaming options.

Market Presence

In some DMAs, dominant competitors are entrenched on cable. If you're competing against firms with 10+ years of cable presence, streaming offers unclaimed territory.

When Streaming Wins

Targeting Precision Matters

If you know who your ideal client is — demographics, behaviors, geography — streaming lets you reach them specifically rather than hoping they're watching when your cable ad runs.

Attribution Matters

If you need to measure what's working, streaming provides data cable can't match. Website visit tracking, search lift measurement, and completion reporting enable optimization.

Younger Demographics

For practices serving adults under 55, streaming is where they watch. Running cable to reach a 35-year-old is increasingly ineffective.

Budget Efficiency

If budget is limited, streaming's reduced waste means more effective impressions per dollar. A $20K streaming budget often outperforms $20K on cable.

Competitive Differentiation

While competitors saturate cable, streaming may offer less competition. First-movers in CTV can build audience presence before others catch up.

The Transition Strategy

Most firms shouldn't abandon cable overnight. A phased transition makes sense:

Phase 1: Test and Learn (3-6 months)

Channel	Budget Share	Purpose
Existing cable	70%	Maintain presence
Streaming test	30%	Build data, test creative

Learn streaming targeting, creative requirements, and attribution before shifting significant budget.

Phase 2: Balanced Approach (6-12 months)

Channel	Budget Share	Purpose
Cable	50%	Reduce to efficient inventory
Streaming	50%	Scale proven approach

Cut cable to best-performing dayparts/programs. Scale streaming based on Phase 1 learnings.

Phase 3: Streaming-First (12+ months)

Channel	Budget Share	Purpose
Cable	20-30%	Specific tactical uses
Streaming	70-80%	Primary investment

Maintain cable for specific use cases (older demos, local news) while streaming carries the majority.

Budget Reallocation Example

Current state: $50K/month, 80% cable

Channel	Current	Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3
Cable	$40K	$35K	$25K	$12.5K
Streaming	$10K	$15K	$25K	$37.5K

The shift happens gradually based on results, not theory.

What About Broadcast?

Broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox over-the-air) sits between cable and streaming:

Broadcast advantages:

• Widest reach (available to all TV households)
• Live sports (NFL, major events)
• News programming
• Brand legitimacy

Broadcast disadvantages:

• Expensive for reach
• No targeting beyond time/program
• Declining audience (especially under 50)
• Limited attribution

Many legal advertisers maintain some broadcast for prestige events (Super Bowl, local news) while shifting core investment to streaming.

The Data Point That Matters

Streaming has 46% of viewing. Legal advertisers put ~25% of budget there.

This gap is opportunity. The firms matching their spend to audience behavior will outperform those clinging to historical channel mix.

Your competitors' cable ads reach 55 million declining cable households. Your streaming ads reach 130+ million and growing — with targeting, attribution, and efficiency advantages.

The question isn't whether streaming is better. It's how fast you shift.

Bottom Line

Choose streaming when:

• Targeting precision matters
• Attribution and measurement needed
• Audience is under 55
• Budget efficiency is priority
• Competitors haven't moved yet

Keep some cable when:

• Targeting 65+ demographics
• Regional sports inventory valuable
• Local news adjacency important
• Transitioning gradually (not cold turkey)

The default should be streaming-first. Cable is the exception, not the rule.

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