← Glossary
Linear TV
Traditional scheduled broadcast or cable television, watched live at a fixed programmed time.
Linear TV is the traditional model of television distribution — content is broadcast on a fixed schedule and viewers watch it live (or via DVR shortly after) rather than selecting from an on-demand catalog. Linear TV advertising has historically been sold via upfronts and scatter markets with limited targeting; addressable and programmatic linear TV bring household-level targeting to that same broadcast and cable infrastructure using SCTE-35 ad substitution.