LONDON, July 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, a global ad fraud and privacy compliance platform, today published the June 2026 update to its free OpenEPG™ Index 1.0, the programmatic advertising industry's first public benchmark of streaming TV content built on real-world U.S. open programmatic ad spend and U.S. consumer reach — across both small screens (mobile) and large screens (CTV).
Key Observations
- NBA’s Hardwood Classics ranked No. 1 on large-screen (CTV) in June, up from fourth in May
- BET’s Being Mary Jane led the small-screen (mobile) rankings for the second straight month
- CNN Newsroom was the top-ranked News show on large screens in June
- Reality, News, and Sport accounted for 81% of estimated U.S. CTV open programmatic ad spend on streaming TV shows in June 2026
- Food Network accounted for 34% of estimated open programmatic ad spend on CTV streaming TV
- News accounted for 64% of U.S. mobile streaming TV open programmatic ad spend
- Scripps News accounted for 39% of estimated open programmatic spend on mobile streaming TV
- Scripps News accounted for 39% of estimated open programmatic spend on mobile streaming TV
Learn more in Pixalate’s June 2026 OpenEPG™ Index: State of Streaming TV Ad Spend Report for the United States.
News, Reality, Sport Draw Streaming TV Ad Spend in June 2026
| Genre | Mobile (Ad Spend SOV) | CTV (Ad Spend SOV) | ||
| News | 64% | 22% | ||
| Reality | 3% | 41% | ||
| Sport | 1% | 17% | ||
| Drama | 15% | 0.3% | ||
| Documentary | 4% | 12% | ||
| Comedy | 9% | 0.3% | ||
The Index ranks shows by estimated U.S. consumer reach and measures each show's estimated share of open programmatic ad spend, by screen, genre, market, and daypart. In June, the two screens told opposite stories.
On the large screen (CTV), ad spend concentrated in two familiar networks: the NBA, whose FAST channel led big-screen sports, and Food Network, whose cooking-competition slate (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Beat Bobby Flay, The Pioneer Woman) dominated reality — together the anchors of the large-screen chart for a second straight month.
On the small screen (mobile), in June, local and national news topped the charts — led by Scripps News (The National Report, Morning Rush) nationally. BET's Being Mary Jane held on as the No. 1 program overall by consumer reach for a second consecutive month.
News over-monetizes on both screens, pulling a bigger share of ad spend than of audience — on mobile, 64.5% of ad spend versus 55% of reach; on CTV, 22.5% versus 17% — a sign of heavier ad loads and higher CPMs.
However, News also carried the highest invalid-traffic (IVT) rate among leading genres (large and small screen combined) in June at 18.6%, triple the rate of Documentary (6.2%).
OpenEPG™ Index June 2026 Rankings
Small Screen — Android & iOS (Combined)
Ranked by estimated consumer reach
| # | Show | Channel | Genre | Top U.S. Market | Ad Spend SOV | Reach SOV | Top Daypart | ||
| 1 | Being Mary Jane | BET | Drama | New York | 8.2% | 13.0% | Prime Time | ||
| 2 | WCCO Mornings | CBS News Minnesota | News | New York | 6.6% | 9.3% | Morning | ||
| 3 | The National Report | Scripps News | News | New York | 8.3% | 6.6% | Overnight | ||
| 4 | Latest Minnesota News & Headlines | CBS News Minnesota | News | New York | 4.6% | 6.5% | Morning | ||
| 5 | Morning Rush | Scripps News | News | New York | 8.2% | 6.2% | Morning | ||
| 6 | Today as It Happened | Scripps News | News | New York | 7.6% | 5.9% | Overnight | ||
| 7 | Boomerang | BET | Comedy | New York | 3.6% | 5.8% | Overnight | ||
| 8 | Games People Play | BET | Drama | New York | 3.6% | 5.7% | Overnight | ||
| 9 | On The Scene | Scripps News | News | New York | 6.0% | 3.9% | Afternoon | ||
| 10 | Twenties | BET | Comedy | New York | 1.9% | 3.1% | Overnight | ||
Large Screen — Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung & Apple TV (Combined)
Ranked by consumer reach; ad-spend and reach figures are share of voice.
| # | Show | Channel | Genre | Top U.S. Market | Ad Spend SOV | Reach SOV | Top Daypart | ||
| 1 | Hardwood Classics | NBA | Sports | New York | 5.2% | 5.9% | Overnight | ||
| 2 | Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives | Food Network | Reality | Atlanta | 4.2% | 4.5% | Prime Time | ||
| 3 | Beat Bobby Flay | Food Network | Reality | Atlanta | 3.0% | 3.5% | Prime Time | ||
| 4 | The Pioneer Woman | Food Network | Reality | New York | 2.4% | 2.9% | Morning | ||
| 5 | The Kitchen | Food Network | Reality | New York | 2.4% | 2.8% | Morning | ||
| 6 | Guy's Grocery Games | Food Network | Reality | New York | 2.4% | 2.7% | Afternoon | ||
| 7 | CNN Newsroom | CNN | News | New York | 3.5% | 2.6% | Overnight | ||
| 8 | Basketball Wives | VH1 Queens of Reality | Reality | New York | 2.4% | 2.3% | Overnight | ||
| 9 | BBQ Brawl | Food Network | Reality | New York | 2.0% | 2.2% | Morning | ||
| 10 | 100 Cooks | Food Network | Reality | Atlanta | 1.6% | 1.8% | Overnight | ||
All trademarks, service marks, and trade names referenced herein (including but not limited to NBA, CNN, Food Network, BET, Scripps News, VH1, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung, and Apple TV) are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. No endorsement, affiliation, or sponsorship is implied.
Availability
The free public Rankings are updated monthly and available at pixalate.com.
Pixalate OpenEPG™ Index is powered by Pixalate OpenEPG™ 1.0 Analytics, which maps TV shows using only standard bidstream Bundle IDs — no publisher opt-in required.
About Pixalate
Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012 and recognized by UNICEF as a “key innovator” for children’s online privacy, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). pixalate.com
Contact: press@pixalate.com
Disclaimer
OpenEPG™ data reflects Pixalate's opinions based on open-exchange signals and public EPG data; no assurances or guarantees are made as to the accuracy or completeness of any classification, resolution, or rating. Attributions are for identification and measurement purposes only and imply no affiliation, partnership, or endorsement. IVT metrics follow Pixalate's MRC-accredited methodology and do not constitute a finding of fraud or any violation of law or platform policy. Pixalate's full disclaimer can be found here.
