Incremental Reach in Action
Using cross-media measurement to quantify unduplicated reach.
Planning for reach is rarely a question of “CTV versus linear.” In practice, most advertisers are balancing both, trying to understand whether each additional euro is expanding the audience or increasing repetition.
As viewing becomes more distributed across linear and streaming environments, the most useful question is often not whether audiences are fragmenting, but how to quantify what each channel contributes to total reach. Our Unlocking New Audiences research, based on a survey of 800+ consumers across Germany, France, Spain and Italy, provides broader context on how FAST/AVOD viewing sits alongside linear TV today.
This is where cross media measurement becomes valuable. It refers to measuring linear TV and
CTV together in one framework, with deduplicated reporting that shows total reach, overlap, and the incremental contribution of each channel.
Incremental reach, in this context, describes the additional unique viewers reached by CTV who were not reached by linear TV during the same campaign window. It helps clarify whether streaming activity is extending a plan into new audiences, or primarily reinforcing exposure among viewers already reached.
Incremental Reach in Practice
Reach rarely increases at a constant rate across a campaign. In many campaigns, reach builds early, then growth slows as delivery increasingly lands on viewers already reached. This dynamic is often visible through reach curves, and it is one of the clearest ways to distinguish between audience growth and repetition over time.
Results based on a UK campaign measured through a third party partner using TV panel-based reach and incremental reach analysis.
Incremental reach defined as viewers reached via CTV who were not reached via linear TV during the campaign window.
A recent campaign in the UK was measured through a third party partner using TV panel-based methodology to assess incremental reach beyond linear TV. The results show a clear pattern: as the linear component of the campaign reached a plateau, the CTV reach curve continued to build over the same period.
The study found that 32% of the viewers reached via CTV were incremental to linear TV, meaning they were not reached through the linear plan during the campaign window.
This type of curve-based view aligns with what we see in broader viewing behaviour: audiences are increasingly split across linear and FAST/AVOD, and incremental reach tends to become clearer when linear and streaming are measured together with deduplication.
Why CTV can add unique reach after linear growth slows
This is not a universal rule, but there are established reasons CTV can contribute additional unique reach when combined with linear TV.
Different audience composition and viewing behaviours
Streaming viewing can over index in audience groups that are lighter on linear TV, which is one reason incremental reach can appear once CTV is layered into a plan. This is consistent with the broader picture in our Unlocking New Audiences findings, which show distinct FAST/AVOD viewing behaviour alongside linear consumption.
Access to additional viewing contexts
FAST/AVOD is consumed within on demand and streaming contexts that sit outside scheduled broadcast patterns. Our study also indicates that FAST/AVOD can drive incremental viewing occasions, with frequent FAST/AVOD viewers reporting they watch content they would not otherwise have watched on linear TV.
The bigger takeaway
The real value of incremental reach is not proving that streaming is different. We already know viewing is fragmented.
The value is showing, with evidence, when your plan is still in reach growth mode and when it has moved into saturation. Once you can see that, you can make better decisions about allocation, pacing, and the role each channel plays.
In a world where budgets are scrutinised and reach is harder to come by, incremental reach measurement is one of the clearest ways to ensure that your next euro is buying new audiences, not just more impressions.
Quick checklist: are you set up to drive incremental reach?
- Have you defined incremental reach success before launch?
- Will you receive deduplicated reach and overlap reporting?
- Do you have frequency controls in place to protect reach?
- Do you know which segments are most likely to be incremental?
If you can answer yes to most of these, you are not just running CTV. You are using it strategically.
Explore the Full Insights
This article draws on data from Rakuten TV’s Unlocking New Audiences study, based on a June
2025 survey of over consumers across Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
The research explores attitudes and viewing behaviour across the TV and streaming landscape
to reveal how audience migration is redefining reach for advertisers.
→ Download the full report to discover how FAST/AVOD can expand your total video reach and
deliver measurable impact beyond Linear.
