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Atmosphere TV, the streaming‑CTV network that powers screens in bars, restaurants, gyms and airports, announced a new partnership with research firm MediaScience to validate the platform’s performance against traditional linear television in out‑of‑home (OOH) settings. The collaboration, revealed on March 25, 2026, employed eye‑tracking glasses to monitor how participants interacted with multiple screens in real‑world environments. The findings suggest that Atmosphere’s curated content holds viewers’ gaze longer and translates into measurable advertising benefits, a claim that could shift how brands allocate budgets between linear broadcast and programmatic CTV‑OOH.
Why the study matters
The advertising ecosystem has been wrestling with a fundamental question for years: can streaming‑centric experiences compete with the entrenched dominance of linear TV when the audience is outside the home? While CTV has proven its worth in households, its efficacy in public venues—where distractions abound and screen real estate is shared—has remained largely anecdotal. By leveraging eye‑tracking technology, MediaScience offers a data‑driven answer, quantifying visual attention in environments that mirror everyday consumer behavior.
For marketers, the stakes are high. Brands looking to reach audiences during leisure moments—such as a post‑work drink or a gym session—need assurance that their spend translates into genuine engagement. The study’s results, which show Atmosphere’s content out‑performing linear TV by a notable margin, provide that assurance and could influence future media planning decisions.
The partnership and methodology
Atmosphere TV’s decision to work with MediaScience reflects a growing trend among ad tech firms to substantiate performance with third‑party research. MediaScience, known for its expertise in eye‑tracking and attention metrics, equipped participants with lightweight glasses that recorded where they looked over a series of viewing sessions. Test subjects were placed in multi‑screen venues typical of bars and restaurants, where they encountered both Atmosphere’s programming and linear TV channels side by side.
The study deliberately introduced “real‑life distractions”—background conversations, movement, and competing visual stimuli—to mimic the chaotic nature of public spaces. By doing so, researchers aimed to capture authentic attention patterns rather than idealized laboratory conditions.
Key findings
Visual attention advantage
- Atmosphere’s programming secured 12 % more visual attention than the linear TV content displayed concurrently.
- Viewers spent 53 % more time focusing on Atmosphere’s ChiveTV segments compared with ESPN’s linear sports feed.
- Survey responses indicated that participants perceived Atmosphere as having fewer ads (+25 %), more creative content (+16 %), and greater originality (+18 %) relative to linear TV, suggesting a more receptive advertising environment.
Advertising impact
- Brand recall for ads shown on Atmosphere was 25 % higher than for those aired on linear TV. brand recall improvements were a key metric.
- When Atmosphere was added to an existing linear campaign, overall brand recall rose by 41 %, while purchase intent saw a directional lift of 14 %.
- Custom ad units specifically designed for Atmosphere’s platform boosted brand recognition by 62 %.
These numbers provide a compelling narrative: not only does Atmosphere capture the eye more effectively, but it also translates that attention into stronger brand metrics.
Executive perspectives
“Atmosphere uniquely combines attention and context in a way that hasn’t happened before,” said Blake Sabatinelli, CEO of Atmosphere TV. “We’re serving up a viewing experience designed for bars, restaurants, gyms and airports that is lighter, less cluttered and more original than linear TV, resulting in a stronger impact for brands.”
Sabatinelli’s remarks underscore the strategic positioning of Atmosphere as a differentiated OOH solution—one that leverages the flexibility of streaming while tailoring content to the ambient nature of public venues.
From the advertiser’s side, Allie Tsavdarides, Vice President of Marketing for HOKA North America, highlighted a concrete use case: “Together with Atmosphere, we brought HOKA into the heart of race weekend with high‑impact video placements across key venues during the New York and Chicago Marathons. Atmosphere helped us show up in moments that mattered, deepening our connection with the running community and reinforcing HOKA as the footwear choice for race day and beyond.”
The HOKA example illustrates how brands can integrate Atmosphere’s platform into event‑centric marketing strategies, achieving both visibility and relevance.
Market implications
A surge in CTV‑OOH adoption
Atmosphere’s reported 141 % year‑over‑year increase in direct sales signals robust market appetite for streaming‑based OOH. The platform’s roster of advertisers—including Bank of America, Brown‑Forman, Corona, HOKA, Hellmann’s, Hershey, Modelo, Pacifico and Tito’s—reflects cross‑industry confidence in the model.
The data also suggests a shift in how advertisers evaluate media mix. Traditional linear TV, once the default for mass reach, now competes with a growing ecosystem of programmatic, addressable, and streaming OOH solutions that promise higher granularity and better performance metrics.
Competitive landscape
Atmosphere’s performance claims place it in direct competition with other CTV‑OOH providers such as Vizio’s OOH portfolio, ScreenCloud, and Samsung’s Smart Signage. While each platform offers its own suite of features, the eye‑tracking evidence gives Atmosphere a tangible differentiator: demonstrable attention advantage in high‑distraction settings.
However, the competitive advantage is not solely technical. The partnership with MediaScience adds a layer of credibility that could sway agencies and brands wary of “black‑box” measurement. In an industry where transparency and third‑party validation are increasingly demanded, such collaborations may become a standard prerequisite for media buying.
Financial and strategic outcomes
The study’s findings dovetail with Atmosphere’s reported 4.5X average incremental ROAS for alcohol brands and a 34.9 % average lift in visit rate for dining partners. These performance indicators suggest that the platform is not just capturing attention but also influencing consumer behavior—a critical metric for advertisers seeking ROI beyond impressions.
For investors and corporate strategists, the data points to a viable growth trajectory. The combination of strong sales momentum, a diversified advertiser base, and empirical proof of effectiveness positions Atmosphere as a compelling player in the evolving OOH market.
Industry context and future outlook
Eye‑tracking as a measurement standard
Eye‑tracking technology, once confined to academic labs, is gaining traction as a practical tool for advertisers. By quantifying exactly where viewers look, the methodology moves beyond proxy metrics such as dwell time or viewability percentages. As more firms adopt similar approaches, we can expect a richer data ecosystem that informs creative decisions, placement strategies, and budget allocations.
The convergence of home and public viewing habits
Consumer behavior has blurred the lines between home and public media consumption. Viewers now expect on‑demand, personalized content wherever they are—whether in a coffee shop or a gym. Platforms like Atmosphere, which deliver curated streaming experiences in public venues, align with this expectation and may become the default OOH model as linear broadcast continues its gradual decline.
Potential challenges
Despite the promising results, adoption is not without hurdles. Public venues must balance content relevance with licensing costs, and advertisers need to ensure that creative assets are optimized for the unique screen sizes and viewing distances of OOH displays. Moreover, the regulatory landscape for data collection in public spaces remains a moving target, especially concerning privacy considerations around eye‑tracking.
Conclusion
Atmosphere TV’s collaboration with MediaScience provides a data‑backed narrative that streaming‑centric OOH can outperform linear television in capturing viewer attention and driving advertising outcomes. The study’s eye‑tracking methodology, coupled with strong performance metrics—such as a 12 % visual attention edge, 25 % higher ad recall, and 41 % lift in brand recall when integrated with linear campaigns—offers a compelling case for brands to re‑evaluate their media mix.
As the advertising industry continues to pivot toward addressable, performance‑driven solutions, Atmosphere’s evidence‑based approach may set a new benchmark for measuring OOH effectiveness. Brands seeking to maximize impact in high‑traffic, distraction‑rich environments would do well to watch how this partnership influences both spend allocation and creative strategy in the months ahead.
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